The Sting In The Tail
by Thorntons
Summary: The deteriorating relationship between Jane and Lisbon after Orchid Lane causes Lisbon to follow a dangerous path. Roughly set late S5/early S6. The story diverges from canon but will use some of the canon storylines as a prop. Some violence towards the end of the story.
1. Chapter 1 : Return of the Mummy

**Chapter 1 : Return of the Mummy**

Cursing Bertram for landing them with this latest case, Lisbon idly flicked through the files from SAC PD. Eventually she pulled herself together, rationalising that the sooner they got this one out of the way, the sooner they could get back to investigating more serious crimes.

The story had been doing the rounds in the media for months and had spawned endless tacky feature stories. The SCU was now in the full glare of the media, and Lisbon wasn't liking it one bit.

Had the perpetrator not chosen to target Judge Manchester, the case would have been left with SAC PD. The Judge had been quite distraught when his beloved pooch Rex had disappeared, but that had turned to cold eviscerating fury when the corporeal remains of Rex had been delivered to the court house.

By chance Cho was giving evidence that day and had witnessed proceedings. The whole courthouse had been evacuated when a suspicious parcel addressed to Judge Manchester had been delivered. Once the bomb disposal unit were happy that it contained no explosives, the package was opened to reveal a mummified dog sprayed gold, and bearing the name tag Rex.

Manchester had gone straight to Bertram to demand a crack team were put on the case, and that was how the SCU found themselves handling a series of dognappings. Trying to ignore the usual cop humour going on in the bullpen, Lisbon set about the task in her usual professional manner. Jane was just a distant speck on the horizon, having decided to take refuge in his man cave. It was hard enough trying to get him involved in any of their more serious cases, so Lisbon held out little hope of him helping with this one.

Lisbon wearily made her way up the stairs; her face screwed up with some venom, when she realised the door was locked again. She rapped the door none too softly. "Jane it's Lisbon, we need to talk."

The pacing inside the room stopped. "I'm busy."

Lisbon puffed her cheeks out; this was getting beyond a joke. Pleading voice. "Jane, let me in now."

The bolt slid across and the door slid open slightly, Jane's disgruntled face appeared. "I'm not working the case, I've told you that."

Lisbon's face darkened. "This is getting beyond a joke. We don't ask much of you these days, and I'm damned if I'm going to beg you to help."

"Good, glad that's sorted." The door slammed closed and the bolt slid back in place.

Counting to ten to control her temper Lisbon backed away from the door, determined not to give Jane the satisfaction of making her grovel. "This isn't over Jane, if you want to remain part of the team you have to pull your weight."

Jane leant back heavily against the door as he heard the retreating footsteps. He was conscious of the fact that he still needed Lisbon's support, but he needed one final push in his attempt to identify all the men he had shaken hands with.

His relationship with Lisbon had hit rock bottom after Lorelei's revelation. Jane laughed ironically – it had only been once and it had been Lorelei who had done all the running. But there was no denying that he did have sexual relations with that woman.

Angrily he kicked out the chair as he made his way toward the window, what on earth had made him let his guard down after Vegas, it had just made it worse when the truth finally came out. On reflection, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing putting some distance between them. Red John was in his sights, and no one was going to stop him exacting his revenge. No matter how many times Jane spelt it out to Lisbon, she naively thought that when the time came Jane wouldn't be able to go through with it. Her faith in him was really quite touching, but completely misplaced. If it was the last thing he did, which in all probability it would be, Jane would have his revenge. The further Lisbon was away from him when that happened, the better it would be for her.

Any assumed romantic entanglement would put Lisbon in Red John's sights, and Lisbon was such a poor actress the estrangement had to appear real. Besides romance was out of the question - maybe in a different world but not in this one, and quite frankly if Jane had believed there was another world, he'd have booked a one way ticket there years ago.

Still he needed the resources of the SCU, and if he pushed Lisbon too far she could make things very difficult for him. He sat down at his desk and ran his hands through his hair before resting his head in his hands, reflecting on his predicament.

Lorelei had stitched him up completely by shooting Lennon; Jane hadn't seen that coming. His last vestige of hope was that he could narrow down the pool of suspects, when he finally identified everyone he had shaken hands with. A herculean task even for him, but not beyond his formidable intellect.

Sighing, Jane knew he'd have to broker some kind of peace deal before he pushed Lisbon too far. Whatever friendship they had was on a knife edge, and could well be lost forever.

* * *

Determined to get this case out of the way as soon as possible, Lisbon went back through the files in an attempt to identify any common parameters between the case files. Whoever was perpetrating these crimes had a sick mind. Stealing a beloved pet was bad enough in itself, without rubbing salt in the wound by returning the remains months later.

Laying the files out in front of her she systematically went about categorising them, so she would have a head start when the others came back in tomorrow. At least they could hit the road running if she had established where they needed to be looking. They still had a few ongoing cases, so they couldn't afford to be running round like headless chickens. Especially as they were now under the scrutiny of the media, who may well jump on this on a quiet news day in order to keep the 24 hour news juggernaut rolling.

Thank heavens Karen Cross had moved on; Lisbon could just imagine the populist furore she would have raised. Cross would have galvanised the dog owners of Sacramento to lay siege on City Hall. A flicker of a smile crossed Lisbon's face as she imagined Bertram talking down the legion of barking dogs, and their angry owners. Would have served him right for taking on the case in the first place, when SAC PD were perfectly capable of dealing with it.

Her head rose slightly at the sound of approaching footfall. Jane no doubt wanting to use the kitchen, now that all bar the overnight contingent had departed. Lisbon returned to her files, ignoring his presence as he slipped by. If they had to solve this one without him so be it, they'd picked up some of his skill set from working with him, even if it took them longer to get to the end point.

So far there had been five reported incidents plus Judge Manchester, the preponderance of women hinted at a repressed personality.

A waitress in a diner had lost her cat; it had been returned to the diner positioned with a saucer of milk in front of it.

The car park attendant at the CBI hadn't been immune from being targeted, her dog's remains had been found tied to a lamp post just outside the building.

The other victims a shipping clerk, a cable show host, and a motel receptionist had also had their pets returned to them in a public arena. There was something particularly cruel about the way the pets mummified remains were returned in such a public manner.

Lisbon guessed that with their limited resources SAC PD hadn't thrown a lot of manpower at this; it would hardly be top of their list of priorities. Each case would have been looked at on a one off basis, rather than trying to take an overview of the situation. With all the cutbacks in resources they were just spread too thin, and they would have done the bare minimum. Lisbon on the other hand had a vested interest in getting this off their books before it garnered too much adverse publicity.

Jane had decided to go out for a quick bite to eat and to replenish his stocks, in the hope that Lisbon might have gone home by time he returned. He simply hadn't got the heart to face her again tonight. On his return an hour later, he grimaced when he saw her lights still on. There was no way back to the attic without passing her office, and this time she would be facing him. Pressing his lips thinly together he made his way through the bull pen, her head was resolutely bowed. A vestige of a smile crossed Jane's face, Lisbon was well and truly pissed off with him; her eyes had never lifted from the papers as he made his way past.

* * *

Cho looked over to Lisbon's office; it was going to be a testing day judging by her irritation at Bertram's early morning call. She was already rubbing her temples to try and mitigate the onset of a tension headache. Best to try and keep on the right side of her today.

Rigsby made his way back, sliding a coffee onto Van Pelt's desk as he passed. Cho just wished they'd get on with it, all this mooning around was driving him mad. There again, maybe requited love would be even more nauseating than the unrequited version. After all Rigsby had a tendency to share _everything,_ and Cho really didn't want to know anything more about his co-worker Van Pelt than he could find in her file.

Rigsby jerked his head towards the couch. "No Jane again?"

Cho shook his head.

Rigsby glanced at Lisbon's office. "Boss doesn't look happy. They had words again?"

Cho shrugged. How the hell was he supposed to know? Both Jane and Lisbon put up a good front for the benefit of the rest of team, Lisbon might venture into sarcasm, but was rarely outwardly critical of Jane. However it didn't take a psychic to work out things weren't right. Jane had lost the goodwill of the team when the Lorelei story came out. Logically he could do whatever he wanted. But they had all put their necks on the line for him professionally, no one more so than Lisbon, and they were wondering whether that loyalty was reciprocated.

Lisbon strode purposefully towards the bull pen, handing the prepared notes to Cho to distribute them. Van Pelt had already started placing out the case details on the interactive white board.

Lisbon sipped on her coffee as the team read the notes she'd prepared. "So far as I can see SAC PD were unable to establish a motive for any of these incidents. Apart from Judge Manchester the victims are all female. The acts have been designed to both hurt and humiliate them."

Cho raised his head "You thinking a spurned admirer?"

Quick shake of her head. "Not necessarily, just someone with a thin skin who has a problem dealing with women."

Van Pelt laughed "Well that covers most of the people in the CBI. Present company excepted."

Lisbon couldn't help but smile. "Quite. But maybe this is more psychologically ingrained, someone socially awkward who has troubling dealing with women."

Van Pelt mumbled. "Well that still leaves half the first floor as candidates."

Cho smirked. Van Pelt's good looks made her a target for every chancer, married or not. "So you think it's not necessarily something that would readily come to mind, just some slight that has been allowed to fester in the mind of the perpetrator. But what about Manchester? That seemed very personal."

Lisbon glanced at the board."I agree, that falls into a different category. We need to go through Manchester's cases in the weeks leading up to the abduction. That looks like pure revenge."

"So why the delay, it must be three months between the abduction and the return?" Rigsby was puzzled.

Lisbon shrugged."I don't know, process time? We're waiting for forensics to come back to us on that. Maybe worth you doing some research on that in the meantime Wayne."

Cho groaned inwardly, with his love of technical detail Rigsby would know everything about the process by tomorrow. They would never hear the end of this. Cho caught Van Pelt's eye, she was clearly thinking the same; they exchanged a silent smirk.

Lisbon chewed her bottom lip as she thought out loud. "There something narcissistic about the way the pets were returned. A need for affirmation and admiration."

Lisbon took up the marker pen. Recalling Narcissistic Personality Disorder from her psychology studies, she wrote down some bullet points

* Lack of empathy

* Problems sustaining relationships

* Hypersensitive to real or perceived criticism

* Over inflated opinion of their self importance

* Detesting people who don't admire them

Rigsby looked on approvingly "Who needs Jane? Come to think of it that could be Jane." Lisbon shot a frown in his direction.

Cho could see how Lisbon's mind was working. "You think they were there when the pet was returned. They needed to see their revenge enacted before them."

"Well it's certainly a possibility. Van Pelt can you see whether there is any CCTV coverage of any of the incidents. If SAC PD were doing their jobs properly, they should have covered that. I'd be surprised if the original footage hasn't been recorded over, but it's still worth checking. Cho and Rigsby check whether the victims can think about any incidents that stand out in the weeks leading up to this. They all interact with the public in their jobs, maybe they can recall someone acting strangely."

Lisbon rolled her eyes when she saw Bertram's number on her ringing phone. She'd be glad to see the back of this case and get back to what they were supposed to be doing.


	2. Chapter 2: TMI

**A/N** Many thanks for all the guest reviews, I just wish I could reply in person to them.

**The end section may have too much information for some, so I'll highlight it for those that prefer to skip it**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Too Much Information**

Another sleepless night beckoned; as was customary Jane would wander down to the bull pen for a change of scenery, and take refuge on the sofa when sleep eluded him. Seeing the whiteboard with all the case notes, Jane ambled over to see what was going on. There was no harm being primed on the case even if he didn't want to be directly involved.

Jane wasn't going to be around much longer, so he was interested to see how they coped when left to their own devices. He had to admit it looked pretty thorough, they were covering all angles. Lisbon's instincts were sound; she just had to learn to trust them more. When coupled with her work ethic, those instincts made her a force to be reckoned with. Of course it was easier for Jane to take a leap in the dark; he had no concerns for his long term career prospects. Knowing you were only as good as your last mistake tended to instil a degree of circumspection, making it harder to take a leap of faith.

Cho had hidden depths, he understood far more than he ever let on. That inscrutable mask rarely conveyed his true emotions; you only saw what he wanted you to see. Content to hide his light under a bushel; he was the antithesis of a narcissist. Of all the team he was the one most capable of reading Jane; Lisbon often only saw what she wanted to see. Cho's eyes shadowed the consultant, scrutinising his every action. Whatever conclusions were drawn were largely kept to himself, to be drawn upon when needed.

Behind Rigsby's bluff exterior there was a wealth of knowledge, not as perceptive as Cho he tended to take things at face value. More of a blunt instrument, and his physical presence was exceedingly useful in a tricky situation. Loyal to Lisbon to a fault, he hadn't hidden his annoyance with Jane.

Van Pelt's mind was wired differently from the rest of the team; her ability to pinpoint facts in a sea of meaningless information was truly impressive. She made an art form of multitasking, her agile brain seemingly capable of multiplexing a multitude of inputs and demodulating them into coherent data. More complex than she was given credit for, Jane suspected there was a darker side to Grace behind the vanilla veneer she presented to the outside world.

There was no disputing that Lisbon had surrounded herself with a first rate team. Privately Jane would admit that he only provided the five per cent inspiration off the back of their ninety five per cent perspiration, but where was the fun in admitting that? Tweaking their noses was all part of the fun, and apart from anything else it kept them on their toes.

He was altogether fonder of them than he cared to admit, but personal considerations had to be pushed to one side. He had to keep his focus. There was no denying he was a cold manipulative bastard at times, but he would never deliberately see any of the team put in danger. His slow dissociation from them was all part of the long term strategy to try and isolate them from the fallout. When the time came it would be a solo quest, there could be no passengers. He felt it in his gut that Red John was within his grasp; it may take months but all his instincts told him the hunt was finally on.

* * *

As Lisbon had pretty much suspected the only CCTV footage available was that from the courthouse and from the CBI buildings. SAC PD had only done a superficial investigation and hadn't followed through properly. Whoever had returned the attendant's dog remains to the CBI had been well aware of the blind spots in the video surveillance, and had chosen their spot well. They were clearly dealing with a shrewd operator well versed in the limitations of security systems.

The interviews with the victims had been largely unproductive. The shipping clerk's work was telephone based; she rarely met people face to face and dealt with dozens of disgruntled people every day. She didn't dwell on the conversations, it was all part of the job.

Likewise the CBI parking attendant was constantly being harangued by people she moved out of the restricted parking area. Overly officious she'd crossed swords with half the CBI employees not to mention countless visitors. Jane had a running battle with her over his overnight parking, finding his car clamped on more than one occasion.

The waitress dealt with awkward people every day, some complained about the food, others about the service. Not to mention those that were despatched with a flea in their ear for being too forward with the comely waitress. Once again nothing of note stood out.

It was highly unlikely that the bored motel receptionist had registered anything, She barely looked up at Cho and Rigsby when they tried to question her. In all probability she probably wouldn't recognise them next week, let alone someone she had spoken to months ago. Her listless indifference would be very annoying to someone with an inflated opinion of himself.

The cable show host's controversial talk show pitted the dog ends of society against each other. It was remarkable the depths to which people would plummet in search of their fifteen minutes of fame. Confrontation was part and parcel of the programme. The host wasn't unduly worried who she upset; she was an equal opportunity offender.

Manchester's abrasive putdowns won him few friends either inside or outside the courtroom. On the plus side at least they had evidentiary records of the case participants, which at least gave them something to work with.

A call from Bertram's secretary had alerted them of an impending visit. Apparently he was bristling after a rough ride from the newshounds in the early morning press conference, and he wanted answers.

* * *

Although Lisbon had studiously avoided mentioning Jane, Cho knew it would look bad if their prize asset wasn't seen to be working the case. As Cho approached the attic door he was amused to hear. "Ah the infantry have arrived. It won't make any difference Cho, I'm not working the case."

Refusing to give Jane the satisfaction of asking how he knew it was him, Cho's usually immobile face took on a determined look. "Open up Jane." Still no response. "It will take me 10 seconds to jemmy open this door, if I fetch the crowbar from my car."

It was impossible to mistake the intent behind the uncompromising statement of fact. The bolt slid open and Jane appeared. "You'd seriously jemmy the door?"

The resolutely folded arms and slow nod confirmed that Cho would do whatever was required, the gloves were off, the customary niceties had been suspended.

"So to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit, my inscrutable friend?" Jane continued drily.

"Bertram's coming."

Jane looked to the heavens exasperatedly "And?"

"It looks bad if you're not on the case."

Unimpressed."Looks bad for who, the CBI?"

"No Lisbon. Bertram's getting heat, so he'll pass it on. He won't be happy if he finds out you're not working the case. You don't have to do anything, just be present while Bertram's there."

A look of resignation passed over Jane's face "Umm but I'm still not working the case."

Cho stepped toward the door, Jane tried to block his way. "I'm not kidding about the jemmy Jane. Anyone of us could be in here in no time; we're merely extending you a professional courtesy by leaving you to your own devices."

The unspoken threat hung in the air, the message came through loud and clear that they were running out of patience with him.

Cho stood in front of Jane's bulletin board taking in the notes and links. Not taking his eyes off the board. "It's obvious what you're doing, but it won't work."

Jane shuffled uncomfortably, not entirely sure what was coming next.

Cho turned to face him. "She's already in Red John's sights, whatever you do."

Jane walked to the window and stared impassively ahead.

Undeterred Cho carried on."She's leading the team chasing Red John, he could take her or any one of us out at any time. We all know the risks."

Cho could see Jane taking slow deep breaths, not liking being made to face the truth of the situation. He wiped his hands down nervously on his trouser legs before finally responding. "It's for the best if I keep my distance, no point painting a target on anyone's back because of some misconception."

"Bertram's due in 20 minutes, just be there Jane. You owe her that much." The sliding of the door marked Cho's abrupt departure.

* * *

The team were getting their whiteboard up to date, and collating their latest intel such as it was, when Bertram breezed in. He stopped to exchange some pleasantries with one of the other units before making his way over to the bullpen.

It was obvious that he wasn't impressed with Lisbon's presentation. "Well you haven't got much to show for all resource allocated."

"Au contraire Director Bertram, we already know a lot about the perpetrator." Jane had appeared from nowhere, cup of tea in hand to explain his absence when Bertram arrived. "He's obviously someone who doesn't fit in very well, people instinctively dislike him without knowing why. There's something distinctly off about him. Women feel uncomfortable when they're alone with him, he overcompensates by trying to impress. Tries to make out he's something more than he really is."

Jane stood in front of the board quickly checking for any updates. "There've probably been problems since his childhood. His mother could never put her finger on why she didn't feel the same love for him as for his sibling, but something deep down inside her would know things just weren't right. Either way there would have been events that would have raised alarm bells. Neighbours and school friends may have suffered mishaps, this would all be building up over time as he grew in confidence. Of course the real question is where will it all stop?"

Bertram studied the bulletin points on the board. "Good to see you've been on the case Jane. Some valuable insights eh Lisbon?"

"Yes what would we do without him?" Lisbon's sarcasm went unnoticed by Bertram.

Jane hid his smile behind his teacup, knowing it must be galling to see him getting credit for the team's hard work.

"So what exactly are your plans for the investigation?" Bertram turned to Lisbon.

Knowing they had hit the buffers on all their leads, Lisbon had a spark of inspiration. "Well rather than paraphrase Jane, it's probably better if he tells you in his own words." She raised her eyebrows innocently.

The faintest smile of appreciation passed Jane's lips, he'd been set up to perfection. "Well notwithstanding the compelling psychological evidence, there is the countervailing consideration of whether it is prudent to pursue certain lines of investigation at this point. Of course that would require the brave and inspired leadership of someone unworried by the possible taint and stigma of a former associate being seen to be of somewhat dubious character. Not that you need to worry on that count, Agent Lisbon will chase down every lead to the bitter end no matter what the consequences."

Bertram forced a smile, bamboozled by Jane's verbal chicanery. He was uncertain whether Jane had actually said anything of meaning, but the implication that there could be risks was enough to make Bertram back off."Very well Lisbon, it seems you have it all under control."

Jane and Lisbon's eyes met across the room, it has been an honourable draw. With the briefest nod of acknowledgment Lisbon returned to her office without a word.

Cho automatically looked up when the elevator door opened to reveal Partridge arriving to discuss the forensics with Rigsby. One look at Jane told him that this was not a good time for Jane to have to face the noxious forensic tech. "Jane, incoming alert at six o'clock."

A quick glance was all Jane needed; he was out of there. That was one ghoul he didn't need to engage with. Muttering under his breath as he passed Cho's desk "Well that's one freak I could believe anything of."Jane made his escape to his office.

* * *

 _****This section describes the detailed mummification process. If you don't want to read it just skip to the end of the section, it won't affect the story****_

Rigsby was pretty well primed before Partridge arrived, but they still needed the actual report to find out which method had been used. The processes were well documented, furthermore there were commercial outlets that even supplied preserved cadavers and organs for medical research, so there was already a lot of information in the public domain.

It was obvious that Partridge wanted to take centre stage, so Rigsby sat back and prepared to listen.

"Well aren't we the gruesome twosome." Partridge was overly enthusiastic for Rigsby's liking.

Rigsby held out his hand."The report?"

"Oh have it your way." Partridge shrugged. "As you can see from the report the cadavers have been through a plastination process rather than being strictly mummified."

Rigsby grunted as he read down the report, it looked like Partridge would witter in the background whatever Rigsby wanted.

" Well the first thing they have to do is kill the putrefaction bacteria, and stop decay by pumping formalin through the arteries and into the body. Then the body is placed in an acetone bath to drive the fats and water from the body, depriving the putrefaction bacteria of what they need to survive. It's a strictly a no fat diet, just carbs."

Rigsby refused to dignify the feeble attempt at gallows' humour with a response, and kept concentrating on the report.

Undeterred Partridge ploughed on. "Next the cadaver is transferred to a polymer bath and the acetone is boiled off under vacuum and the polymers are drawn into the cells to fill the void left by the acetone. For perfect results this can take months, almost a year for a human body, but this DIY version is less thorough just enough to preserve the cadavers for a while. It looks like the organs were processed separately, then replaced in the body cavity after curing.

"The cadaver is then wired in position and the polymer is cured to give a rigid structure. To complete the mummy effect the cadaver was wrapped in lint and painted with epoxy resin between layers. It was sanded down for a smooth finish before painting to give the end result. Sort of Tutankhamen meets Scooby Doo."

There was no doubting Partridge knew what he was talking about, but he was such a jerk. Rigsby knew he would regret it as soon as he opened his mouth."Wouldn't this require specialist equipment and a dedicated laboratory?"

"In an ideal world but sometimes the cadavers are placed in vacuum bags and left to marinate. You know like preparing chicken for the barbecue." Partridge added gruesomely.

"Do you have to do that?" Rigsby cast a disgusted look in Partridge's direction.

"Just putting the final touches to the recipe Dude." Partridge was inordinately pleased with his own joke.

Rigsby returned to the file, there was enough here to be going on with. If he needed any more detail he could always email Partridge. At any rate Rigsby had had his fill of Partridge; Jane was right he was a complete ghoul.

 _*** end of process detail***_

* * *

The other's looked up warily as Rigsby came out, expecting him to be bursting to tell them all about it. Far from it he just passed the report to Cho."Read the report. I need some fresh air after that."

Cho took a copy into Lisbon's office, she motioned for him to take a seat. Cho sat in silence, waiting for Lisbon to make a cursory appraisal. "It would need someone with a pretty strong stomach to do this. The cadavers were disembowelled before processing, how many people would have the stomach for that?"

Cho considered the possibilities."Someone medical or a veterinarian, a mortician, a butcher or even a hunter - anyone used to handling dead bodies. There's quite a range to choose from."

"No it doesn't narrow it down much, they'd all have some experience of anatomy, but would they have the knowledge for the processing." Lisbon wondered if more than one person was involved.

"Presumably they'd have some dedicated premises to do the actual processing. Acetone is pretty flammable, and all those vapours when it's boiled off would be pretty hazardous." Cho made a mental note to check for any reported chemical fires.

"Indeed and we're talking industrial volumes of chemicals, someone would need contacts to buy those sort of quantities. I assume the polymers would be pretty specialised, might be worth finding out where else they would be used. Get Van Pelt to look into that and contact the suppliers to get a list of customers." Lisbon was in her element, In the absence of inspiration they would fall back on good old fashioned detection.

Jane normally merely observed while they did the legwork, so his presence was immaterial at this stage, apart from keeping the top brass happy.

* * *

A/N Jane's verbal gobbledegook is a nod to Anthony Jay the writer behind Yes Minister, who died this week.


	3. Chapter 3 : A turn for the worse

**Chapter 3: A Turn For The Worse.**

 **A/N** This chapter will be taking a turn into darker territory, in contrast to the lighter tone of the opening chapters.

* * *

As he approached the slightly ajar door, Cho noticed some splintering to the door frame. "Jane, you in there?"

The door slid fully open and Jane drily remarked. "Cho we must stop meeting like this, people will start talking."

"No need to worry on that count, I'm so over blondes." The faintest of smiles crossed Cho's face as he placed the folder down on Jane's desk.

Jane raised an eyebrow enquiringly.

"Saves you rifling my desk for updates at night. I've put some new books out as well, as you seem to have taken a liking to my latest novel." Judging by the way Cho's desk was rearranged overnight; it was obvious Jane roamed the buildings at night.

Jane made no attempt to hide his amusement; in fact Cho detected an altogether more relaxed air about him today. Perhaps he had made a breakthrough. Cho stood hands on hips, in front of the bulletin board, something had bugged him last time he visited. "This makes no sense."

Jane's ears pricked up, it would be interesting to hear what Cho made of his project. "In what way?"

"The suspects." Cho took a long hard look at the selection of lowlifes Jane had plastered over his notice board. "Take this one - he's a drug dealer more than capable of killing but only when it affects his interests. They may be pond scum, but serial killers no. Haibach now there's one seriously creepy dude; shows all the classic symptoms of paedophilia. Hopefully we'll be able to make something stick before he enacts his fantasy, but his interests lie more with children than adults, so not Red John.

"Benjamin Marx - could easily be Red John. Arrogant, sadistic with a brain to boot, but he was still in custody when you came back from Vegas. Also he hasn't got the leverage over law enforcement that Red John seems to have, that and timing tends to eliminate him."

Jane's heart sank, had he made it all too simple? Cho had demolished his chart in minutes. When you were routinely the smartest man in the room, it was all too easy to underestimate the intelligence of those around you.

Cho looked at the door frame. "When did that happen?"

"When Lisbon me dragged out to Percy."Jane had reluctantly been drawn in to investigating some of the cases, knowing Lisbon wouldn't tolerate a total withdrawal. He was still treading a delicate line not to push Lisbon too far.

"You don't seem unduly upset by it." Cho observed the consultant closely.

Jane shrugged. "There's been interference for months, nowhere is secure. No one ever covers their tracks perfectly."

The truth suddenly hit Cho; he shook his head with a hint of a smile. "It's a con, just a diversion to set someone on the wrong trail."

Jane was struck dumb that his ruse was so transparent to Cho."What makes you say that?"

Cho regarded Jane thoughtfully."Always assumed Red John was part of the establishment rather than the criminal fraternity, or else someone with a very long reach like Brett Stiles. Ruthless as Stiles is he doesn't strike me as a psychopath, he's not inherently evil. Now Bertram is a different kettle of fish, there's something decidedly off about him."

It was refreshing to have an outside opinion, and Cho was being uncharacteristically forthcoming. Much as Jane respected Cho he still wasn't going to divulge the list of 10 suspects he had whittled it down to. A bit more refining and he could get the list down to a more manageable size.

"Jane, you know you don't have to do this by yourself." Cho looked earnestly at the consultant, before leaving without further ado.

* * *

With other cases on their books and the pet investigation being reduced to a paper chase, Lisbon had left the exercise in the capable hands of Rigsby and Van Pelt. Rigsby's science background enabled him to understand the technicalities, where Van Pelt was like a sniffer dog tracking down all the leads. Besides it was obvious they had rekindled their relationship, and this time Lisbon was well aware of it and thoroughly approved. Obviously she hoped they would be discreet, until the rule change about relationships in the workplace was official. Somewhat more cynical these days Lisbon wasn't quite so enamoured of the rule book; perhaps something of Jane's influence had made her more unyielding in the face of petty bureaucracy.

Lisbon's pride had made her take a step back from Jane, but it still worried her that he was cutting himself off from his support network. The latest case centred on La Roche had finally broken the ice between them, although Jane had insisted on being left to his own devices as soon as the case had been solved. Lisbon had never understood the dynamic of Jane's relationship with La Roche. There was a curious respect between the two of them, and Jane had been intent on keeping JJ's secret intact. That in itself was enough to get Lisbon's investigative antennae twitching, for once she had the upper hand on Jane when she had unearthed JJ's ghastly secret.

The strange affinity between the two of them became clearer, no doubt JJ could relate to Jane's quest for revenge having enacted his own. As an officer of the law Lisbon pondered whether she should look further into it, but erred on the side of pragmatism. No doubt the attack would have been fully investigated, and presumably JJ had covered his tracks. Few people would be better versed than JJ on the practicalities of covering up a crime. Moreover it was such a heinous crime that it rankled that Scott Saynay had been granted early released for the sake of bureaucracy. While Lisbon couldn't condone JJ's medieval act of retribution, it granted some atonement for the failings of the justice system.

Lisbon pondered how that thought even entered her mind, she'd definitely spent too much time with Jane - that idea would have been anathema to her a couple of years ago. Her faith in law enforcement was being eroded by the sense that system was working against them. It took all her reserves to hold back the tide of pernicious cynicism that sometimes crept into police work, when it became all too easy to maintain that the ends justified the means.

* * *

Jane's self imposed purdah was brought to a premature end, when the pet kidnapping case took a sinister turn for the worse. Lisbon knew the whole team would need to be involved to cope with the latest developments.

On receiving no reply to her text, Lisbon ascended the stairs to the attic with grim determination, this was simply too important for him to ignore. Lisbon rapped the door sharply. "Jane there's been a development. We need to talk."

"Radio silence Lisbon, I need to concentrate."

Lisbon breathed deeply to calm herself down. "Jane it's important, you need to see this." Something about her tone told Jane that this was serious.

The door slid open to allow her access; she took a quick glance around before settling her gaze on Jane. His brow was furrowed as if in deep thought, his cognitive processes were clearly wrestling with some deep conundrum.

Wordlessly Lisbon passed Jane a photograph of a young Asian girl. Jane looked up questioningly the seriousness of Lisbon's demeanour left no doubt as to her deep concern.

"Priya Kaur, 8 years old, reported missing 4 months ago." Lisbon stated matter of factly.

Sad as it was Jane knew there was something more to this, he sorrowfully studied the image of the impish young girl that leapt out from the photograph. "Seeing as you're here, you may as well tell me the full story Lisbon."

Lisbon began slowly. "The case had initially been treated as a straightforward abduction, and there was no suggestion it was linked with any other crimes. Despite exhaustive investigation SAC PD had been unable to establish a motive or uncover any evidence leading to Priya's whereabouts. As no corpse was discovered, they clung to the hope that Priya may have been abducted for some reason other than intent to murder."

"I take it that the situation has changed, what aren't you telling me Lisbon?" Jane had a bad feeling about this.

"The next door neighbour Sofia Escobar coincidentally lost her dog on the same day. Its remains have been returned to her today." Lisbon didn't need to fill in the gaps, the implications were obvious.

Jane's heart sank knowing there was no such thing as coincidence. "Do we have a tie in between the two incidents?"

"Nothing definite, but Priya used to play with the Escobar's daughter Mia who was the same age, and they would be in and out of each other's houses. On the day Priya went missing the Escobars came home to find their back door open and the dog missing. The theory is that Priya saw the door open and thought the Escobars were at home and disturbed the intruder."

They both felt sick to the pit of their stomachs at the thought that this young girl so full of life had more than likely been snuffed out, and may now be part of some macabre experiment in the hands of the perverted pet-napper.

Lisbon knew how much cases like this affected the whole team but Jane in particular, he took on a sombre look as he considered matters. "Have you interviewed the families yet?"

"No I'm going over there. I need you to work this with me Jane." It was part request part statement, she didn't doubt his response.

Jane gave a quick nod. It was going to be a grim task talking to the parents, and probably unproductive. He had no doubt Priya was just the victim of an unfortunate turn of events.

* * *

The car journey was predictably glum as they both played over the grisly scenarios in their own minds. They would talk to the Escobars first, before dealing with the Singhs. They may as well have all the facts before they met the distraught parents.

"Mrs Escobar, Agent Lisbon and Patrick Jane of the CBI, may we come in?" Sofia Escobar led them through to the living area and invited them to be seated. The initial shock of the mummified remains of Rosie the dog being returned had worn off. Sofia had long since resigned herself to the fact that the dog had probably been run over, or had found a new home. The visits to the dog pound and re-homing centres had been fruitless. Besides Rosie had been chipped, and they would have automatically been notified if she had subsequently been found. Anyhow it had all fallen into perspective with the unexplained disappearance of Priya

Little Mia Escobar was on the floor playing with her Tamagotchi, she was now reduced to playing with her virtual pet. Mrs Escobar gave them a warning look to indicate Mia was unaware of Rosie's fate. "Mia, I just need to talk with these nice people, why don't you go up to your room for a while."

Jane said hello to Mia, who shyly grinned back at him before making her way out the room. Mrs Escobar sighed heavily. "She's only just starting to come to terms with Priya's disappearance; we're trying to shield her from what's happened to Rosie. She's going to stay with my parents out of state for a couple of weeks to try and keep her away from the coverage. I've already had calls from the press; it won't be long before they turn up on our doorstep."

Although they'd attempted to keep this under wraps, Lisbon knew a juicy story like this was bound to be leaked, and would soon be all over the news. "Mrs Escobar can you describe the events of the day Rosie and Priya went missing?"

Sofia collected her thoughts together. "It was just an ordinary day. We'd just popped out to the store and noticed the side gate was open when we pulled up. Mia and Priya were always going backward and forward between houses so we just assumed Priya had come to see Mia, although we normally bolt the door before going out. Anyhow when we got in we found the back door open and Rosie was gone. We assumed we must have left the door unlocked when we went out, as there was no sign of a break in. We went round to see if Priya knew anything about it, but the Singhs had assumed Priya was with us. It was difficult to keep track of the girls at times as they went between houses. We guessed Priya had accidentally let the dog out and had gone after her, both families searched everywhere but there were no sightings of either of them. "

"Can you remember anything strange that happened in the weeks before then? Someone you may have upset." Lisbon was desperate to get a lead that they could finally pursue in this case.

"There was an incident on 6th Street; we were trying to park up by Southside Park. We were going to have a picnic by the lake. Mia and Priya were getting over excited in the back of the car; I was distracted and I accidentally cut up another driver. He leapt out of his car and completely over reacted. I got out of the car to try and lead him out of earshot of the girls hearing and gave him a piece of my mind about swearing in front of children like that. He made some idle threats then stormed off. I never thought any more of it."

"Can you describe the man or the vehicle?" Lisbon thought this sounded promising, it was just a shame it was too long ago to try and recover any video footage of the event.

"It was a long time ago." Sofia sighed. "Slim build, dark hair, fortyish – just very ordinary. He drove a white van. I didn't look that closely because I was keeping one eye on the girls in the car."

Jane guessed they weren't going to find out a lot more, but he had one last go "If you were to describe him as an animal what would spring to mind?"

Sofia looked questioningly at Lisbon to see if he was serious. "Just try Mrs Escobar, sometimes the association can bring things back to you that you hadn't thought of."

Sofia gave it some thought. "A Racoon, pointy features, aggressive when cornered."

"Thank you Mrs Escobar that has been most helpful." Lisbon had a quick look at the back door and side entrance but it was largely academic. No forensics had been carried out at the time because no crime was suspected.

The large tree in the front yard would provide cover to load a vehicle without anyone seeing anything. Presumably both the dog and Priya would have been chemically subdued at that stage, so as not to raise attention.

* * *

With some trepidation they approached the Singh's front door. Priya's mother led them through to the back room where Deepak Singh was seated. He rose to greet them in his quiet mannered way, a serious man at the best of times the dark shadows under his eyes conveyed even more gravitas to his bearing. There was little point questioning the parents in too much detail, it was a more a case of telling them that they had taken over the investigation, and giving them a new point of contact. The case notes had been well compiled, and they wanted to cause as little additional pain to the parents as possible.

"As you're aware the CBI has taken over the case from SAC PD. We just want to introduce ourselves, and to see if there is anything else you can recall that isn't covered by the case files."

"You will find our little Priya won't you?" Priya's mother asked tearfully. Mr Singh looked solemnly from his wife to Jane and Lisbon. It was evident that he had long since accepted the inevitability of the outcome. He had no doubt that their daughter was lost to them, but he hadn't managed to convince his wife, who was still clinging on to the vain hope that Priya would be returned at some stage.

Before Lisbon could trot out some anodyne response, Jane intervened. "I'm afraid we are not anticipating a positive outcome. We believe Priya interrupted an intruder next door and was probably taken because of fear of identification."

Priya's mother sobbed out loud, Jane muttered his apologies before raising his head to meet Mr Singh's eyes. Looking over his wife's shoulder he gave Jane a nod of thanks for his candour, it was time they started to face up to facts for the sake of the other children.

Lisbon cursed and kicked out at her tyre as they got back to the car, letting her frustrations show for once. Jane eyed her warily; it was unlike Lisbon to let a case get to her. Jane left Lisbon alone with her thoughts as they drove back to the CBI.

Eventually she verbalised her fears. "You said it when you were talking to Bertram, where is this going to end? A small child may be too much of a temptation for a pervert like that. What if he decides to process her and deliver her back to her parents? It's simply unimaginable how they would cope with the horror of that."

"For what it's worth Lisbon, I think Priya would have been killed pretty much straight away. I doubt he intends to repatriate her remains, but he won't be able to resist the opportunity of experimenting with the corpse. Once he's done one who knows how far he'll go, we need to stop this before he takes it any further."

At the back of his mind, Jane had a feeling that the incident at the park may be pivotal. Perhaps Priya had recognised the dog-napper and that was why she had been abducted. There was no need to take her otherwise; an eight year old would hardly be a reliable witness. Jane would offer Lisbon his support on this. He had empathised deeply with the Singhs, all the more so as he had grave fears about the ignominy that was being visited on Priya's remains and the effect that would have on her grieving parents.


	4. Chapter 4 : Plumbing New Depths

**Chapter 4: Plumbing New Depths**

In the days that followed Jane had started to divide his time between the bullpen and the attic, coming down periodically for updates before retreating to his man cave to mull over the latest facts. There was a sense of despondency hanging over the investigation; no one expected a positive outcome.

Guessing Jane and Rigsby would be the most likely to be affected by the case, Lisbon kept a wary eye on them. Fortunately Van Pelt was on hand to support Rigsby, but Jane neither wished for nor invited any intrusion into his private world.

His guard was still resolutely in place, the occasional chats with Cho were little more than a diversion. Noticeably more acerbic than usual, Jane had no time for humouring people outside the team. On their rare forays into the bullpen both Ardilles and Partridge were kept well away from Jane, the mere sight of them had the consultant bristling. Jane habitually used them for target practice at the best of times, and already in a dark place the bounds of propriety meant nothing to him.

Lisbon rued that their late night chats were a thing of the past; they'd never recaptured the easy going relationship they enjoyed prior to Vegas. Conversation was desultory at best these days and largely confined to case work. Never one to openly intrude into Lisbon's private life, Jane affected total disinterest when some poor sap tried to press his attentions on Lisbon. The gentle teasing which would previously have accompanied such an event was a thing of the past.

The revelation that Jane had slept with Lorelei had been like a slap in the face to her. Although she understood the cool logic that had compelled Jane to follow that route, it still felt like a rejection. Up until that stage Lisbon had been reconciled with the status quo, in the context of Jane's unwavering devotion to the memory of his lost family. The ease with which he had tossed his ascetic life to one side when it suited had completely thrown Lisbon. Perhaps he wasn't leading the celibate life they all assumed, her thoughts inevitably drifted to Erica Flynn. What if Lorelei wasn't Jane's first fling?

It was true, he had never shown anything other than sibling affection for her, even the _Love You_ he'd blurted out spoke nothing of romance, the missing _'I'_ muddied the meaning of his careless bluster. Jane had been her closest friend, and her relief at his return had almost wiped out the resentment of his sudden departure. But all of that counted for nothing when she had suffered the ignominy of Lorelei humiliating her in the interview room. Lisbon began to feel foolish that she had assumed a closer bond between them, and felt unaccountably lonely and bereft of human comfort.

The first free weekend after the Lorelei revelation Lisbon took off to a singles bar in San Francisco, which she was familiar with from her days with SFPD. Of course she was younger then, but she cut a slightly more polished figure these days, and by her own admission still brushed up pretty well. A couple of cocktails had loosened her tongue enough to feel like a normal human being again. Discarding her St Teresa mantel for the night, Lisbon soon engaged with a number of interested parties. Not that desperate that she had to lower her standards, most were politely sent on their way. Finally Lisbon hit the motherload with a personable realtor, who was passing through town, and was just looking for a mindless no ties diversion. Throwing caution to the wind, in the knowledge they would never meet again, Lisbon let loose in a way she hadn't done for years.

Though by no means a prude; Lisbon had become so used to the rigid discipline of her work persona that it almost felt like a sign of weakness to have given in to desire with such gay abandon. So much easier to blame it on the alcohol, than to admit her needs were real and perfectly natural.

The initial outing had settled the boat for a while, until the time when Jane conceded he had some feelings for Lorelei, whatever they were. That admission triggered the start of more regular weekend jaunts to San Francisco, where Lisbon could hook up without any repercussions back home. The need for human contact overrode her ingrained guilt complex, and she became increasingly reckless when the shots she took for Dutch courage started to cloud her judgement.

Waking up alone in a strange bed one Sunday morning after a bout of unexpectedly rough sex, any affirmation she felt of her desirability soon came crashing down to earth, when she surveyed the evidence of her reckless abandon. Once again fortune had vomited all over any hopes of a guilt free outlet for her needs. The bites and marks could be easily disguised by suitably high necked clothing; more worrying was the unmistakable evidence that at some stage in the frenzied coupling no protection had been used.

As the hangover wore off Lisbon pulled herself together, she had to get this under control. It was totally out of character for her to get so wasted as to put her health at risk. Her routine health check would have to be pulled forward to ensure there were no long lasting effects. Lisbon soon returned to normality, intent on renouncing her lapse of control.

* * *

Whatever Jane observed, he kept his thoughts to himself. The slightly bloodshot eyes on Mondays were an indicator that Lisbon had been hitting the bottle over the weekend, but as there were no signs of that spilling over to the working week Jane let it pass. There was a regretful air about the way he looked at her, but whatever turmoil Lisbon was going through she had to sort it out herself. Although Jane had no doubt he was the cause of Lisbon's malaise, he couldn't afford to weaken his resolve. It would do neither of them any good in the long term.

Some weeks down the line from there, Lisbon was back in control and channelling all her energies on the case. The team had gathered round the white board to go through the latest findings, as usual Jane stayed aloof though he was clearly taking everything in.

Lisbon started the ball rolling in her usual efficient manner. "So Rigsby, what have we found out about the chemical suppliers?"

A flicker of a look passed between Van Pelt and Cho as they resisted the urge to glaze over as Rigsby began his spiel. "Well Boss, the acetone can be bought in any hardware store so it would be easy enough to amass a stock of that without raising any red flags. Storage of it would be an issue so it's unlikely that it would be held in that volume in a domestic situation. Under the NFPA Flammable and combustible liquid codes, it's classed as class 3 hazard due to its low flash point at.."

"We get it Rigsby, you can buy it anywhere and it can burn your house down." Jane snarked from his sofa. Lisbon flashed a glare at him, followed by an admonishing look in Cho's direction that soon wiped the smirk off his face..

Rigsby looked a bit put out at the rude interruption, but Lisbon indicated for him to carry on. "Anyhow moving on to the polymer, that's covered by a patent and is only available from three sources in the USA as it's imported from Europe. It's used primarily in veterinary science or medical applications for preservation of samples for teaching purposes. The distributors have provided a list of all their customers so that we can check it out."

Lisbon nodded her thanks as the list was passed round. "So Van Pelt what have you found out from that list?"

Van Pelt seamlessly took up the narrative. "There are a number of practitioners of the process in California, and several of the local universities have at one time or another undertaken the process. There appears to have been a degree of rationalisation as some of the faculties no longer carry out the process, and they now subcontract out to other universities."

"Any of those universities close to here?" Lisbon had real hopes they would get a lead from this.

"Yes The University of California in Sacramento now subcontracts out to Davis." Van Pelt confirmed.

Cho intervened "What happened to their process equipment?"

"Rather than lose their jobs, some of the technicians tried to set up as independent contractors and bought up all the equipment and supplies. Looking at the company history they soon foundered, we're trying to track them down and see what happened." Van Pelt looked up in anticipation of the next question.

Lisbon's ears pricked up at that, "Do we know where they were based?

Van Pelt tapped away at her keyboard. "Ah, they had a small industrial unit at Florin Fruitridge Industrial Park in Sacramento."

Without further ado Lisbon despatched Cho and Rigsby to track down the owners of the failed business, while Van Pelt did a search on their finances. It soon transpired that the would be entrepreneurs had little head for business, making no allowances for overheads and health and safety requirements, they had hopelessly underestimated the costs of setting up an enterprise like this, which met the stringent requirements of potential clients. Within a couple of months their ineptitude came to a head as they had failed to budget for the long process times, and a cash flow crisis pushed them over the edge. Desperate to recoup some money, they had accepted a cash offer for their plant and materials, rather than have to pay for the chemicals to be legally disposed of. It had suited them to ask no questions, all they could remember was that someone at the university had apparently put the buyer in contact with them.

The bulky equipment had been collected by a light haulage company that was organised by the buyer, but the sellers affected selective amnesia when pressed about the cash sums and records of sale. They were brought in for formal questioning, in the hope that the combined efforts of Cho and Jane would help them remember the inconvenient truths.

Impatient to get to the truth Jane wasted no time on niceties. "We really don't care that you've broken endless regulations, allowing the transfer of hazardous materials without the necessary permits. It's none of our business that you've defrauded your creditors and possibly the IRS by hiding a cash transaction, but we can make all of that our business and more if you continue to equivocate." Noticing the white mark on one of the men's ring finger Jane added "Or maybe it isn't the authorities that you're bothered about. Your wife's attorney would pull no punches if they found out that you'd been holding money back."

"All of this pales into insignificance against the consequences of your actions; a pervert now has the tools at his disposal to wreak untold damage. It is believed he may have abducted a child. Can you really live with that responsibility?"

Unsure how to react to this, they stalled for time, but soon capitulated after Cho relentlessly badgered them about their finances. They genuinely didn't know the buyer's identity, but they remembered the name of the haulage company, and in turn the haulage company remembered another cash transaction and they were able to find the delivery address from their records.

* * *

The chemicals and equipment had been delivered to what turned out to be an old barn in the El Dorado foothills. The local PD had initiated a preliminary search, while the SCU team made their way over. Lisbon told them to stay by the van while she conferred with the officers standing guard. She disappeared inside the building, and one glance towards the plastic tent that housed the grotesquely posed body was enough to confirm their worst fears. Quickly turning away, not wanting to have that image ingrained in her memory, Lisbon made her way back to the team.

Her eyes settled on Jane, he had been edgy and restless in the car. Jane really didn't need to see that, moreover there was little that his skills would divine from the setup anyhow. If needs be he could see the crime scene photographs later, they sanitised the reality to a degree. Making her mind up she turned to Cho. "Can you and Jane check round the outside, while Rigsby and I wait for forensics?"

Well aware of the consultant's unease, Cho gave a quick nod and led Jane off to check out the surroundings for clues.

Taking a long look at Rigsby, Lisbon thought it best to forewarn him what he was about to see. "Wayne, you're best suited to ask forensics the right questions. Just stick to the basics and we can go through the rest back at base. Keep away from the tent for now, forensics need to deal with that."

Rigsby nodded grimly. "Boss don't worry about us, we just want to nail this creep once and for all."

Letting her guard down for once Lisbon vented. "I just hope they don't send that ghoul Partridge to cover this one. One joke from him and I won't vouch for my actions."

Rigsby coughed meaningfully as Partridge rounded the corner, causing Lisbon to look round. Crap she hoped he hadn't heard that.

Having already run the gauntlet of Cho and Jane, Partridge just narrowed his eyes at Lisbon's comment. One day the SCU team would get their comeuppance, and he fully intended to be there when it happened. Determined not to give them the satisfaction of knowing their barbs had reached their target, Partridge assumed a jaunty air when he greeted them. "Hey big man, what's cooking?"

"For God's sake man show some respect. Can we just get on with it." Rigsby followed Lisbon into the barn, despite her warnings his eyes were inextricably drawn to the corner of the room. A string of expletives followed. "Sorry Boss, just when you think you've seen it all, some degenerate plumbs new depths."

As Partridge busied around the tent with the photographer, Lisbon and Rigsby put on their gloves and started to check the rest of the barn. The light purr of the vacuum pump indicated there was something in one of the tanks, after checking it over Rigsby shouted over to Partridge. "Is it safe to open this?"

Partridge made his way over, and checked the equipment over, he flicked a few switches off then depressurised the chamber. They had been so impressed by his competence with the equipment that they hadn't noticed at first that he wasn't wearing gloves.

"What the hell are you doing Partridge, where are your gloves? Your prints will be all over the equipment" Lisbon snapped.

"No problemo Lisbon, my prints are on record so they'll automatically be excluded." Belatedly he put some gloves on, before removing the seal on the vacuum tank and placing it to one side. He stood to one side as Lisbon and Rigsby nervously peered into the tank, where a shorthaired Dachshund was being processed.

Lisbon recoiled in disgust "Jeez. The sick bastard deserves some of his own treatment."

Partridge leant over to view the tank and pulled a face "Umm definitely no sauce with that dog."

Seeing Lisbon was about to lose her cool, Rigsby drew himself up to his full height and menaced towards Partridge. "Just shut up and do your job."

Partridge scurried away; if Lisbon didn't know better she would have said he had a hint of a smile on his face.

They made meticulous notes of the crime scene, and watched Partridge work from a distance. It struck Lisbon how familiar he was with the equipment. She pushed that thought to one side, rationalising he was probably used to using kit like this all the time.

Keeping their distance, they watched the forensic team dismantle the tent around the victim so that the photographer could do his work. No one wanted to be there any longer than necessary.

Needing to rinse some dirt off his hands Rigsby shouted across the barn. "Is there a tap over there Partridge?"

"Behind the partition." Partridge replied without thinking. Rigsby disappeared, but Lisbon stared across at Partridge, he caught her eye but hastily looked away and started busying himself.

Lisbon knew she hadn't imagined that, there were too many coincidences. Unwilling to besmirch a fellow law enforcement officer on the basis of her dislike for him, she resolved to bounce some ideas off Jane later. Rigsby had returned and they were about to leave, when Lisbon saw Jane standing in the doorway, transfixed by the vision in the corner. His pallor made Lisbon rush over to try and get him away, but he brushed her concern aside irritably. "Save it for someone who needs it Lisbon. I'm not one of your lost causes." With that he walked away and took a seat in the back of the SUV, refusing to talk to anyone. As soon as they got back to base he disappeared straight up to the attic.

Rigsby was enraged at the way Jane had treated Lisbon, but she made light of it although it had cut her to the quick. They had all been feeling off kilter after what they had experienced, so some reaction was predictable. After writing up their reports Lisbon sent them all home early, in the hope they would wind down overnight.

Lisbon needed someone to discuss her suspicions with, and decided to give Jane one last shot. She just needed a reality check to make sure that she wasn't reading too much into events. Her courage almost failed her as she approached the attic door, doubting the wisdom of disturbing Jane. Although in truth her visit served a dual purpose, she could check up on Jane at the same time. "Jane are you in there?"

The door slid open and Jane faced her, determinedly blocking her way. "Ah the sainted Teresa is still looking after her flock, even when they've told her to leave them alone."

The sneer on his face incensed her. "Just go to hell Jane. I came to discuss the case but forget it." Lisbon slid the door shut with a ferocity that caused Jane to stand back sharply. Resolving to trust her instincts, Lisbon was determined to solve this herself. They'd managed without Jane before and they would manage again.

The coolness of his response had left her in no doubt as to the state of their relationship. Lisbon was on her own from this point on.


	5. Chapter 5 : The Spanish Inquisition

**Chapter 5: The Spanish Inquisition**

The ferocity of Lisbon's response had taken Jane by surprise, so it was with some trepidation that he made his way down to the bullpen the following morning. Cool but professional, Lisbon showed no sign of their disagreement in front of the rest of the unit, not wanting them to be collateral damage in the wake of the ongoing hostilities. Jane could tell Lisbon was following her own line of enquiry, separate from the team, by the way she switched windows on her screen whenever anyone entered her office.

Mistiming one of his visits to the kitchen Jane overlapped with Lisbon, who was very deliberately trying to ignore his unexpected appearance.

Deliberately invading her space, Jane reached over her to get to the cupboard before casually initiating a conversation. "So Lisbon, did you solve the conundrum you wanted to discuss with me?"

The twitch of annoyance on her face was unmistakable. "All in hand Jane, no need for you to worry yourself about it."

All that did was to pique Jane's interest further. What on earth was she keeping from him? "Oh come on Lisbon, you know you wanted a second opinion."

She swivelled round to meet his eyes, face set in the faux innocent look that didn't fool anyone, least of all Jane. "Well that was then, and this is now. And now there is absolutely nothing to discuss."

"Do you really think you can keep a secret from me?" Jane taunted.

Lisbon folded her arms and just stared him out. Mimicking her pose Jane tossed his head, and made his eyes wide open. He laughed derisively. "Really Lisbon don't you think you're a bit old in the tooth for the wide eyed ingénue act?"

The put down stung Lisbon to the core, did he really have so little respect for her? "Just go to hell." She turned to find Cho and Rigsby had wandered in on the tail end of things, holding her head high she calmly made her way back to the office.

Cho put a hand out to stop Rigsby from launching himself at Jane. "Just leave it Rigs, it's none of our business." Cho's eyes told Jane a very different story, but there was no point Rigsby getting into trouble on Jane's account, besides Lisbon wouldn't like it.

* * *

The management meeting Lisbon was scheduled to attend was hardly the way best preparation for the weekend, but it offered a brief respite from the cauldron of the office. Fortunately Lisbon wasn't required to do a presentation and could switch off, just paying enough attention to follow suit when the others turned a page or to notice there was a pause for some reason. She was raging inwardly, and couldn't wait to get out of there and find comfort in a bottle of tequila.

Meanwhile Cho tried to keep a lid on things in the bullpen. Cho didn't trust Rigsby to rein his anger in; there was no doubt that the big man was gunning for Jane, he was loyal to Lisbon to a fault. Although it rarely surfaced, Cho had witnessed a mean streak in Rigsby on more than one occasion.

"Van Pelt." Cho jerked his head in Rigsby's direction. "Just keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn't fly off the handle."

"Would serve Jane right if he did." Much as Grace liked Jane, he had well and truly overstepped the mark.

"You know the rules Van Pelt, they'd throw the rule book at Rigsby. Just make sure he's not alone with Jane right now." She just grunted as she tapped away at her keyboard. Grace knew Cho was right, and anyhow she and Wayne had already resolved to give the consultant a piece of their mind in Lisbon's absence.

Cho was still keeping a close eye on things, when he noticed Rigsby and Van Pelt slink out of the office. Just hoping his words had a calming influence on them, Cho could do no more but wait until they came back.

Jane had half expected some repercussions when he realised their exchange had been witnessed, he'd never meant for it to get out of hand again. He had genuinely intended to proffer an olive branch, but then Lisbon went all cloak and dagger on him, and he took the bait hook line and sinker. His ego knew no bounds at times, when presented with a challenge.

Judging by the heavy footfall it was definitely Rigsby, Jane's eyebrows raised slightly at the prospect of that encounter. The big man had a good few inches and extra pounds on him, so Jane was relieved to hear the lighter sound of Van Pelt's block heels clicking on the stairs behind.

Unable to help himself when confronted with their serious faces, Jane quipped. "Oh I see the Spanish Inquisition has come to torture me. Have you brought a comfy chair and some soft cushions?" Grace and Rigsby just looked at him blankly. Oh well, probably just as well his wit was wasted. The temptation to say _ooh scary_ as Rigsby towered menacingly above him hovered on Jane's lips, but one look at Grace's earnest face dissuaded him from antagonising them. Suppressing his natural urge to tweak their noses, Jane attempted to address their concerns as meekly as he could, although he couldn't resist rolling his eyes as they finally left. At least they were satisfied that they had defended their leader's honour, and Jane knew where he stood.

Left alone with his thoughts, he could only speculate about what Lisbon was looking into. She really hadn't given him anything to play with. The sound of purposeful footsteps came up the stairs, Jane wasn't surprised that Cho had chosen to do the follow up. The door was already open, and Jane was perched on his desk ready to meet with Cho. Repeating his earlier quip. "Aah I didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition."

A look of understanding passed between them, Cho smirked involuntarily. "No one expects the Spanish Inquisition. Though seriously you were lucky Van Pelt came with Rigsby. He was all for pulling your fingernails out, and to be honest I was all for holding you while he did."

Jane sighed heavily, no way was he going to be able laugh off Cho's comments so easily.

Looking Jane straight in the eye, Cho's implacable delivery was to the point. "Enough is enough – you've done what you set out to do. You've alienated everyone, but worse than that you're crushing Lisbon's self respect. She may be putting on a brave face, but one of my old contacts at SFPD says she's been seen worse for wear, picking up men in the bars in San Francisco. If that gets to be common knowledge it will completely undermine her reputation."

"She's her own woman, there's nothing I can do about it." Jane said defensively, though he was clearly concerned by what he had heard.

"If she were doing it simply for her own gratification, I agree that would be her business, but you've destroyed her self esteem, she feels worthless. Worse still the other units are starting to pick up on the atmosphere, they've been gunning for Lisbon for years because of your cheap stunts. If they get the whiff of any gossip, they'll be all over it like a rash. It takes years to build a woman's reputation, but only five minutes of idle gossip to destroy it." Cho delivered a damning indictment of the consequences of Jane's actions.

Jane looked down guiltily at his feet; he didn't like the sound of that. The only upside was that it might take Lisbon out of Red John's sights. Deep down his guts still churned at the prospect of her picking up random men. Of course Jane knew she had occasional flings, and he tried to be philosophical about it, even if a very small part of him unreasonably wished she didn't.

As no response was forthcoming, Cho launched his final salvo. "We can't work with you like this, if you don't pack it up we'll do something about it. You're not a team player never have been. We can live with that so long as the benefits outweigh the downsides , but we're not going let you drag Lisbon and the team down. Lisbon may have to choose between us and you, because if you carry on like this we won't work with you anymore."

The message came through loud and clear. Cho didn't make idle threats. "I think the Spanish inquisition would have been preferable." Jane muttered as he walked away to the window – there was no denying it had all got out of hand. Knowing Cho wasn't going anywhere without a response, Jane set his lips together, and held his hand up in defeat. "I'll put it right . I'll try and talk to her over the weekend."

Much as he needed the unit to achieve his quest, his determination to put this right wasn't entirely down to selfish reasons. Whatever the future held for him, and he guessed he would either be dead or in jail, he wanted Lisbon to emerge as unscathed as possible. Jane was genuinely concerned that instead of just pushing Lisbon away, he may have pushed Lisbon over the edge, and that had never been his intention. He had to find a happy medium between keeping her at arm's length and outright antagonism.

Later that night he tried calling her, but his calls went straight to answer phone. Hardly surprising he mused, after all she was hardly likely to welcome his conversation. Later he passed by her condo, but the lights were off. Guessing she wouldn't appreciate finding him on her doorstep when she came come, he left resolving to put things right on Monday.

* * *

The management meeting had finished early, and Lisbon had no desire to go back to the bullpen. The pity of the team was worse than Jane's antagonism. Every heartfelt smile from Grace and the _'great idea Boss, of course Boss'_ from Rigsby felt like the knife was being twisted in. At least Cho's impenetrable mask hid whatever was going on in that head of his.

Returning home to her empty condo, she looked around at the meagre comforts she afforded herself. After 20 years of working was this really all she had to show for the long hours? An incipient ulcer, strained family relationships and nothing to come home to, not even a pet she could lavish her affections on. It was her own fault, she'd never made any attempt to make the place more homely; the condo was more like a lodging than an honest to goodness home. Just somewhere to store her stuff and somewhere to sleep; it was almost as impersonal as Jane's motel room. They really were two lone wolves. In many ways the condo was a metaphor for her life, sterile, unloved and a little bit jaded.

It had been weeks since Lisbon had gone on one of her jaunts, but she was feeling rock bottom. It was either stay at home with a bottle of tequila for company, or do something positive. Opting for the latter, Lisbon booked a room in the small hotel she'd previously used, and made her way to the bay area.

The makeup was a little heavier than usual, and the clothing a tad more revealing. The plunging neckline, while still on the right side of good taste, didn't leave a lot to the imagination. There was no mistaking Lisbon's intent. Perhaps put off by the faint whiff of desperation, some of the more discerning punters gave Lisbon a wide berth.

Nursing a cocktail she warily eyed the perma-tanned jock making his way over to her; with his fake designer watch and sharp suit, he was definitely trying to punch above his weight. Lisbon returned his conversation noncommittally. As the drinks flowed her reserve was starting to drop, her companion was already making overtures in expectation of some quid quo pro. Lisbon kept pushing his wandering hand away, anticipating any encounter would be very wham bam thank you ma'am. Surely there had to be better options. All of a sudden she felt a hand around her waist. "Teresa sorry I'm late."

She looked round to see Mike, the man she'd enjoyed an over boisterous encounter with on her last outing. Still there was an animal magnetism about Mike, and she was strangely drawn in by the frisson of danger. Moreover the sense of relief that she was going to be able to dump this loser, made her forget quite how demanding Mike had been last time.

Mike pushed her drink away."I think you've had enough of that Teresa, let's go while you can still stand up." Supporting her out to his car, they made their way back to her room. Mike wasted no time in getting down to business, Lisbon just giggled in response playfully biting him and daring him to do his worse.

"You're a bad girl Teresa." A sudden slap startled her. Drunkenly she slapped him back and a rough and tumble fight ensued, Lisbon's superior training counted for nothing in her addled state, and she was helpless against the assault that followed.

Groaning as she came to the following morning, her swollen tongue seemed stuck to the roof of her mouth.

Her head throbbed as she tried to lift it, the inertia of the movement causing her head to spin wildly. Peering through semi open eyelids the daylight permeating through the curtains burned into her retina, as if she were looking at the brightest star in the firmament. Her whole body ached from the aftermath of her brutal encounter, torn and bruised she tentatively pulled herself to the edge of the bed, desperately needing to get to the bathroom as a wave of nausea overcame her.

The dry retching just strained her stomach further, the few sips of water made her feel worse but relieved the dryness of her mouth. Aching all over she braved herself to see the extent of the damage. Apart from the initial slap to her face, which blessedly hadn't marked her, the bulk of the damage was to her torso and her wrist, which she had caught on the bedside table at some stage.

Inebriated enough to lose control, but not enough to blank her memory out completely, fragments of events from the night before started to come back to her. In retrospect it was clear that Mike had been curiously controlled in his own way, it had almost been stage managed. The stinging pain on her back was a reminder of welts raised by Mike's belt. It had all brought back memories of her father's drunken rages, and ashamed of the position she had put herself into, Lisbon had almost rationalised that she deserved what was happening to her. Practiced enough to know where to call a halt, and having more than satisfied his own needs, Mike's parting words chilled her to her bones. "I know where to find you Teresa, and next time my friend wants to meet you. Believe me, we'll make it very special."

Unfit to move for a while yet, and certainly not able to drive for a few hours to come, Lisbon called down to reception, and organised a late checkout in the hope that the effects of her exploits would wear off in a few hours.

Lisbon pushed aside any thoughts of recourse to the law, she was unwilling to make her antics public. After all she would hardly be considered a reliable witness having been complicit in events to some extent. The thought of being dragged through the gutter was anathema to her. That didn't mean she couldn't do some private digging around into Mike, but that could definitely wait for another day. There was something that just did not feel right about the whole situation; the chances of Mike popping up in some random bar in the nick of time, were remote to say the least.

Still feeling the effects of her injuries on the Monday, Lisbon legitimately called in sick, citing her injured wrist. A trip to the emergency room had confirmed a hairline fracture that necessitated the application of a cast. On hearing she was in law enforcement, the hospital didn't press her about her injuries, accepting it had been the result of a botched take down. Lisbon smiled wryly, she really was getting more accomplished at lying than Jane gave her credit for.

A new case had been called in that demanded the immediate attention of the team, and it was good for Cho to take the lead once in a while, but she told him she was available for calls if needs be. An unanticipated benefit of the circumstances, was that it left Lisbon free to conduct some off the grid research into Partridge. She guessed that the discovery of the crime scene would disrupt his perverted plans in the short term, and Lisbon was unwilling to voice her suspicions until she had something more concrete to go with. A few days left to her own devices was just what she needed.


	6. Chapter 6: Blind Mice

**Chapter 6 : Blind Mice**

Determined to start the week off on good terms, Jane was perched on his sofa with his tea cup in hand awaiting Lisbon's arrival. For all his confidence he had been nervously playing over his tactics in his head. Of course he would stop short of an outright apology, but he'd work something out. Knowing Lisbon was immune to his charm offensive these days, he'd have to present a plausible explanation for his sudden change in behaviour, short of declaring outright glasnost.

Umm still no Lisbon, and it was after nine. Perhaps Bertram had summoned her for an update before the morning press conference. The restless fingers playing with the rim of the saucer were a sign of his impatience. Transferring his attention to the team as a means of distraction, he could see that they were just going about their business, and were not unduly bothered by Lisbon's absence. Presumably they all knew what was going on, and were just giving him a taste of what life would be like if they conspired to freeze him out.

Ok, if that was the way they wanted to play it, no more Mr Nice Guy, well nice-ish. Jane noted a distinctly smug air about Grace and Rigsby, although neither would look in Jane's direction. By contrast Cho took no pleasure from the situation, and comfortably returned Jane's questioning gaze without a flicker. Nonchalantly meandering over to Van Pelt's desk, Jane peered over her shoulder to see what she was working on. He smiled as Grace tensed slightly under the scrutiny. "No Lisbon yet?" Jane took a sip of his tea as he waited for a response.

Grace typed away a bit quicker, in a vain attempt to appear unfazed. "No she's not in today." Jane leant in closer over her shoulder as if to read her screen, and to intensify the subtle pressure on Van Pelt to augment her earlier statement. His lips quirked slightly when he heard Rigsby's sharp intake of breath, a sure sign that the big man was getting uptight about Jane's proximity to Van Pelt.

It was obvious that Jane was yanking their chains, and without intervention the situation could easily escalate. Cho's monotone voice broke the silence."She'll be back Wednesday. In the mean time we've got a new case to look at. I'll fill you in on the way to the crime scene. You're working with me today Jane."

"Your wish is my command, oh inscrutable one." Jane took his cup back to the kitchen, not bothering to suppress his smile in response to the death glare that the big man directed at him. Rigsby was none too happy at being left behind, but Cho reasoned leaving Jane alone with either of the love struck dynamic duo was a recipe for disaster. At least they could chase down the paper trail, while Jane and Cho followed up on some leads. Besides Jane could be good company when it was just the two of them.

"Are you happy now that you've wound them up again?" Cho's eyes never wavered from the road.

"You know I can't stand secrets, they're just begging to be found out." Jane responded unrepentantly.

"Carry on like that and you'd better practice playing possum; Rigsby's got a mean right hook when he gets going." Cho knew Rigsby was teetering on the edge, and one wisecrack would be enough to make him see red.

"Honestly Cho, you're no fun. What's a bit of gentle teasing between friends?" Jane blew his cheeks out petulantly.

"You know the score Jane. Now I suppose you want to know why Lisbon isn't here." Cho opted for a more conciliatory approach with the recalcitrant consultant.

"Finally we get there." Jane couldn't bring himself to ask outright.

"Lisbon slipped, and injured her wrist breaking the fall. She's had a temporary cast fitted." Cho had asked no questions, not wanting to put Lisbon in an awkward situation. The thought had crossed his mind that she may have been worse for wear at the time.

Judging by the concerned look on Jane's face he was thinking along the same lines, in fact Jane wondered whether Lisbon had been in the emergency room when he had popped round to see her.

"How's she coping?" Jane asked quietly.

"You know Lisbon, she doesn't say a lot. She's just taking the painkillers, but aims to be back on Wednesday. Until then you're answerable to me or vice versa." Cho added with a hint of a smile on his face, guessing he would be dancing to Jane's tune by the end of the day.

Jane settled back in to his seat, satisfied that there was no long term damage to Lisbon. In fact he was almost looking forward to a straightforward day of catching villains.

* * *

Despite the luxuriating soak, Lisbon couldn't wash off the feeling of being dirty. For all her bravado the old feelings of catholic guilt had started to creep in. She shook her head at the array of bruises that were the manifestation of her shame. At least the heat helped soak away some of the aches and pains, but it was uncomfortable trying to keep the wrist cast out of water.

She had no qualms about the casual sex, after all she was single, unattached and had no time to forge permanent relationships. It was just scratching an itch, although it looked like she'd be back to scratching that itch herself for the foreseeable future. Anyhow it pretty much went with the territory in law enforcement. It was a fact of life that different standards still applied to men and women. Where Rigsby was given a hearty slap on the back by his colleagues for flaunting his exploits, after he'd split up with Van Pelt. Grace would have been vilified for the same behaviour, it still wasn't a level playing field by any stretch of the imagination.

What really rankled was that she'd lost control of the situation by seeking comfort in the bottom of a glass. The apple really didn't fall far from the tree; she'd seen firsthand how easy it was for that situation to spiral out of control. Determined to take back control, all the liquor and wine had been poured away earlier in the day. Without that prop she was just going to have to face up to things, and having a clear head would help concentrate on matters in hand.

Turning her attention to Mike, Lisbon knew there would be other victims. Mike was clearly very adept and practiced at what he had done, he knew exactly where to draw the line. In fact it was highly unlikely his name was Mike, many people in singles bars adopted aliases for protection. The problem was that it was hard to know where to start looking for him, without drawing attention to herself. Reluctantly she put Mike on the back burner for now, but as soon as she had closed the pet-napping case she could return to it. Enough of being a victim, she was back into badass mode and there was no way she was letting that go without some attempt at retribution. Moreover his parting words still rang ominously in her ears, it was in her own interests to make a pre-emptive strike.

Before her latest falling out with Jane, Lisbon had already scoured the databases for Partridge's employment records. Despite his annoying demeanour, he was obviously very competent at his job. He studied Forensic Science at UC Davis and had been working in law enforcement ever since. The bare records told her very little, Partridge was born in Columbus, Ohio. There was one surviving parent his mother, and an elder sister who still lived in the Columbus area. There were no records of any dependants, so Lisbon guessed Partridge was currently single. In truth she had never heard talk of a girlfriend, but there again she had never gone out of her way to make small talk with him. Lisbon started to draw up a plan of action for the next two days.

* * *

The following morning she felt altogether more lively after a decent night's sleep, some light painkillers would sort out the residual creakiness for the next few hours. By chance Lisbon had gotten quite friendly with one of the forensic scientists Nazia Pervez, who was a specialist in toxicology. An inveterate gossip, Nazia would happily dish the dirt on Partridge, with the correct encouragement. They had met up previously at the Daily Grind coffeehouse, which was just a short walk from the offices, so Lisbon sent her a text to see if she fancied lunch today.

Just after one o'clock Lisbon spotted Nazia's cheery face coming towards her. Wearing a practical tunic and pants outfit, topped off with a stylishly draped patterned hijab, Nazia was the epitome of a smart sassy young woman. However it was her wicked sense of humour, and irreverent take on life that had really appealed to Lisbon.

"Hey Lisbon, no work today?" Nazia hadn't noticed the cast.

Lisbon held up her wrist in explanation "Can't drive just yet, trying to work from home, but I just fancied a break. My treat, I owe you one for rushing those results through last week." Lisbon fumbled for her money, and ordered drinks and some pastries to take out. Seeing Lisbon struggling with the tray, Nazia quickly took control. "Come on let's go sit in the park over there."

"I had the pleasure of crossing swords with your colleague Partridge last week. I don't know how you put up with working with him all the time, he's such a ghoul." Lisbon started tentatively.

"Well he certainly takes job satisfaction to new heights - was anyone ever better suited to their job?" Nazia responded with a grin.

"Jane thinks he gets off on Fangoria." Lisbon laughed.

"So I heard, you know Partridge used to enjoy telling that story. He still refers to Jane as Britney when they've had a run in. There's certainly no love lost there." Nazia clearly shared Lisbon's opinion of Partridge.

"So what's he like to work with?" Lisbon gently pressed.

"Bit of a jerk, but effective." Nazia was clearly was holding something back.

"Why what's he done?" Lisbon carelessly enquired.

"Oh he's always making stupid comments about the way I dress. I just laugh it off, but it incenses other people in the lab." Nazia was inured to cultural ignorance for her own part, but she knew others had thinner skins.

"You shouldn't let him get away with it." Lisbon hated to see petty tyrants get away with things because their intended victims wouldn't dignify their insults.

"To be honest some of the things he says to the other people in the office are far worse, at least he keeps a respectful distance from me. Although he can be quite a pest when a new woman starts work in the lab. He just hovers annoyingly and won't take the hint when he's given the brush off." Nazia paused conspiratorially. "There was one incident last year, though of course no one can prove anything. Martha had made an official complaint about him, then a few weeks later after it had all died down she opened her lunch box, and found a mouse posed in there eating a piece of her sandwich."

"Posed?" Lisbon's interest piqued.

"Well it was weird, it looked entirely lifelike. The feet were perfectly formed, but the eyes were glass so it must have been fake. It looked every bit like a real mouse." Nazia could recall it clearly.

"What happened to it?" Lisbon vainly hoped it had been kept.

"Partridge heard the commotion when Martha dropped her lunch box on the floor. He came scurrying over to help, and took everything away. He was really sweet to start off with, fussing around her, and then he started telling mouse jokes to lighten the mood, ignoring the fact that Martha was getting increasingly agitated."

"Mouse jokes?" Lisbon raised a quizzical eyebrow.

"Yeah you know. What is a mouse's favourite game? Hide and squeak!" Nazia shrugged apologetically.

Lisbon smiled despite herself. Encouraged Nazia continued "What squeaks as it solves crimes? Miami mice!"

The two women just started giggling, Lisbon could just imagine the scene. Partridge just never knew when to quit. Regretfully Nazia's lunchtime was over; it was time to return to the office but not before the two women agreed to meet up again in a couple of weeks. Lisbon had few friends outside of work, and decided it was time to start cultivating more female friends - men being decidedly off the menu for the foreseeable future.

Lisbon came away from the meeting even more sure that Partridge was her man. Starting to stiffen up again as the effect of the painkillers wore off, she made her way home to do some more research.

* * *

The case had been a slam dunk as soon as Jane had noticed the dodgy car dealer looking nervously towards the locked garage on the other side of the lot. There had been a spate of car thefts; newly acquired cars were being stolen and resold again on Craigslist. Some of the cars had been stolen more than once, before the title could even be registered with the DMV. It wouldn't normally be a case for the CBI, but someone had been killed when they rushed out to stop the thieves from taking their car; they had been run over in their own driveway.

Van Pelt had noticed that a lot of the stolen vehicles had been traded at Harvey's Autos in the month prior to their theft. It didn't take a lot of imagination to work out that the eponymous car lot owner was probably linked to the thefts.

"You're looking very uncomfortable." Jane fixed his gaze on Harvey. "Your heart is starting to race and there are beads of sweat on your forehead. I bet your mouth feels dry."

Instinctively Harvey's tongue swept out to moisten his parched lips, the power of suggestion was playing on his already nervous state.

Looking over the lot Jane fixed his eye on the gleaming red Pontiac Firebird, with a firebird tastelessly emblazoned on the hood. Knowing Cho was a petrol head, Jane lead the way over to the Pontiac, which was parked in front of the locked garage. Harvey followed nervously, beads of sweat by now had genuinely appeared on his brow.

Jane ran his hand appreciatively over the iconic car. "They don't make them like this anymore."

Cho surveyed the car critically, it was way too flashy for his liking. "These were the last of the Firebirds that could be souped up to pre 70's performance, by removing the catalytic converter to improve the compression ratios. A real gas guzzler from the days when gasoline cost next to nothing."

Jane opened the car door and settled back into the red leather racing seats, all the time watching Harvey's reaction while he fiddled with the controls.

"It's not for sale, faulty transmission." Harvey blustered, desperately wanting to take them away from the locked garage.

Cho had picked up on Harvey's furtive glances toward the garage by now, and had guessed what Jane was up to. "What's in the garage Sir?"

"Oh just junk. Now if you're looking for a classic car let me show you this Chevrolet Corvette over there. Now that's a real work of art." Harvey started to move away, but noticed the two men stood rooted to the spot.

"Why won't you open the garage Harvey - have you got something to hide?" The consultant knew the answer to that question just by observing Harvey's face.

"Open the door Sir." Cho's voice left Harvey in no doubt that he had been rumbled. Foolishly he tried to make a run for it, but the overweight car salesman was soon taken down by the infinitely fitter CBI agent.

Predictably the garage contained the stolen car, Harvey soon sang like a bird. Though not the brains behind the outfit, he would tip off the gang where to find the cars after sale, in return for a small cut of the action.

It was almost like old times, and Jane enjoyed the buzz of pitting his wits against someone, but he knew the thrill would be short lived. He was almost there, and in Lisbon's absence he just needed one final push to sort out his final list of suspects. "Cho, can you make do without me tomorrow? I just need one more day to finalise everything."

"Anything I can do to help?" Cho guessed the consultant just needed to be alone, but his offer was sincere.

A brief shake of the head confirmed that, "I'll be back in the bullpen on Wednesday when Lisbon returns, just give me another day."

There was enough paperwork to keep the team going for the next few days, tying up all the loose ends, so Cho was happy to comply with Jane's request.

* * *

The following day Lisbon was back behind the wheel of her car, and on her way to UC Davis. The university was known as a Public Ivy institution for the high quality education it delivered, competition for places was fierce, so Partridge was no slouch. It was obvious that he had a sharp brain, even if he had trouble relating to people.

The university still performed the plastination process in support of its world lauded veterinary and medical schools, and this afforded Lisbon a viable excuse to make enquiries. Although Lisbon knew the forensic department wasn't the right place to start, she was prepared to act the dumb cop if needed. Unlike Jane, Lisbon was more than willing to let people think she was less sharp than she was, eliciting people's help was often far more effective than barging in with all guns blazing.

Before long she was taken under the wing of a forty something lecturer called Bill Hopkins, who found no hardship in spending half an hour in the company of the good looking agent. Lisbon slipped out Partridge's name in passing, and Hopkins just pulled a face. The police forensics occasionally subcontracted out specialised services to the university, and Hopkins had crossed paths with the forensic technician. Partridge had a reputation for being high handed with people, and denigrated expert opinions that contradicted his own initial findings.

The one thing Lisbon did learn was that forensics covered a multitude of specialities, ranging from ballistics, pathology, toxicology and no-one was going to be an expert in everything. Contrary to the impression Partridge gave, the crime scene forensic technician was largely an information gatherer, and was just a small cog in the machinery.

Hopkins helpfully pointed Lisbon in the right direction, newly divorced he had immediately noticed the absence of a ring on Lisbon's finger, and had quickly suggested a follow up date as they parted. Quite frankly Hopkins may have been the nicest man in the world, but Lisbon had had her fill of men for a while, and Hopkins' card was deposited in the first available bin on the way back to the car park.

As the picture was starting to build up, it was apparent that Partridge was fitting the narcissistic personality disorder that Lisbon had originally profiled - lack of empathy, self opinionated and hypersensitive to criticism, all those characteristics applied to Partridge in spades. Lisbon's next step was to canvas some of the victims to see if any of them recognised Partridge. Lisbon was prepared to be patient to build her case before she got everyone else involved. She judged that Partridge didn't pose any imminent threat, now that his operation had been rumbled.

Unfortunately for Lisbon, she hadn't taken account of what a gossip Nazia could be, and word got back to Partridge that Lisbon was asking questions about him. Furthermore one of his more sympathetic contacts at the university had alerted him that a female cop had been sniffing round - Hopkins had been boasting in the common room about the attractive agent he had asked out on a date.

Now Partridge was nothing if not resourceful, and had falsified the inventory at the crime scene. He had been able to reclaim some of specialised kit and polymers, before the evidence was taken in to storage. It wouldn't take him long to set up again, and he had a much bigger project in mind next time. He could kill two birds with one stone, then he'd see who would have the last laugh.


	7. Chapter 7: A Fine Pickle

**Chapter 7 : A Fine Pickle**

**** **A/N** The second half of this chapter contains violent scenes and bad language that may border on an M Rating***

Events diverge from Canon from this point onwards

* * *

Jane racked his brain long into the night going through his last ten probables; he started to whittle the list down one at a time. Jane pushed the photograph of Ardiles to one side, there was nothing about the man that said homicidal maniac to him. Despite Ardiles' obvious antipathy towards the consultant, somehow Jane just couldn't see the fastidious attorney in the role of a cold blooded killer - Ardiles was not a candidate.

JJ had never been a serious candidate despite the fact he ticked a lot of the boxes. Although Jane guessed JJ had a dark side, there was something about the man that he warmed to nevertheless, and Jane simply couldn't believe he would feel like that about Red John.

Jane toyed with his wildcard. Perhaps he was letting his personal feelings cloud his judgement; after all Mashburn had been a distant speck on the horizon since his fling with Lisbon. There was no doubting Walter was charismatic and an inveterate thrill seeker - perhaps murder was the ultimate thrill? Mashburn could be Red John in the same way that Jane could be; they both shared many of the attributes of Red John, and neither man liked to hide their light under a bushel. Walter wasn't someone to lurk in murky waters; he wanted to be in the spotlight, he wanted his daring to be appreciated and wouldn't hide behind an alias. Jane pulled a face as he reluctantly put Walter to one side. That just left seven suspects, some more likely than others.

The light of the new day started to break through, and after two sleepless nights Jane was starting to feel the effects of fatigue. Deciding to clear the decks before Lisbon got in, Jane gathered up his papers and started to incinerate them. The bulletin board was stripped bare; it was time to rest before the final assault. He heard Lisbon's approaching footsteps as he added the final papers to the fire.

"Good morning Lisbon." Jane stole a quick glance at her. "What happened to your wrist?"

"Ah, it's nothing. I tripped. What are you doing?" Quickly changing the subject, Lisbon turned the spotlight on Jane. It didn't go by unnoticed, but Jane let it go.

"We're close. Very close." Jane rarely used the word 'we', that was interesting.

"How close is very close?" Lisbon pressed not expecting to get a sensible answer, but at least the tone of the conversation was more reasonable, even if Jane was his usual irritating self.

"Oh... about, uh, this close." Jane was predictably evasive. Ignoring Lisbon's entreaties to tell her more, Jane flopped down on the sofa, pulled his coat over his head, and promptly fell into a deep sleep. The buzz of the office went on around him; no one even raised an eyebrow as they walked by him. Jane's eccentricities had long since been accepted, even by those who didn't necessarily agree with his methods.

Cho came in to update Lisbon on the car theft case. "Feeling better Boss?"

"Just a bit sore, but at least I can drive again." Cho guessed Lisbon had backed off on the painkillers to enable her return to work.

"Looks like you have this case all wrapped up. Good work Cho." Lisbon's matter of fact manner conveyed her approval without seeming unduly patronising.

A quick nod of Cho's head acknowledged the statement. "Jane saw through the car lot owner straight away, but Van Pelt had already done the leg work before we got there."

Lisbon glanced out of the window at the slumbering consultant. "How's he been?"

"He's been Jane. Annoying and helpful in equal parts." Cho's face gave little away, he took full responsibility for anything Jane did on his watch.

Lisbon couldn't entirely suppress a knowing smile. "I've been doing some thinking about Priya's murder over the weekend - can you get Van Pelt to email me a list of contact details for anyone who may have met the culprit."

Cho guessed Lisbon had a hunch, but wasn't ready to share it yet. All good detectives followed their gut instinct from time to time, without knowing exactly why they went down a certain route.

* * *

As usual fate conspired to interfere with the best laid plans, when the call came through to alert them of another suspected Red John murder. Lisbon knelt down to wake Jane from his slumbers; he really was well away, and it seemed a shame to wake him. With his sleep heavy eyelids and his tousled hair Jane looked so peaceful, and Lisbon regretfully had to shatter that peace yet again.

Of course it would have to be Partridge at the crime scene, showboating to the other forensic guys in his role as the self appointed Red John expert. As Jane and Lisbon approached the scene they heard Partridge authoritatively proclaim."I've worked Red John's murder scenes since he began. It's totally bogus."

The photographer clicked away "Ah, that's a shame. I always wanted to work one of the famous killers."

Partridge was in flow now "He's been laying low for years, working through friends and proxies."

"He killed just recently, didn't he?" The photographer was sure he'd heard about a case.

"That was an internal issue. Lorelei Martins was one of his own people. Doesn't count." Partridge turned as he heard the approaching footsteps. Ideally they would have wrapped up before the SCU arrived, as he hadn't particularly wanted to face Lisbon or be on the receiving end of Jane's acid tongue.

"You're sure this wasn't Red John, are you, Mr. Partridge?" Jane's formality barely disguised his contempt.

Silently fuming, Partridge deferred to Jane's superior knowledge "No, I mean, I-I'm surmising. You're the expert"

Partridge seethed, it was bad enough Jane making a fool of him when it was just the three of them, but humiliating him in front of the rest of the forensic team stuck in his craw. Partridge snuck a furtive look at Lisbon, who was giving him a cagey look and avoided direct eye contact.

Jane proceeded to dismiss the forensic team in the most brusque and obnoxious manner, telling them to return later. Partridge smarted at the offhand dismissal, who did the hell did the SCU think they were? Lisbon shuddered at the undisguised malevolence in Partridge's look as he walked away; the sooner they put him away the better.

Jane was curiously off kilter about the whole episode, even more so than the usual Red John cases. Less certain of his instincts, something about this particular case had unnerved him. There were way too many coincidences; Red John was clearly orchestrating it all by leading Jane back to his de facto hometown of Stoney Ridge. It was strange to see Jane so nonplussed by events, he was completely bewildered when he finally realised who Eileen Turner was. How could a random happy memory be taken away like that? Jane had no doubt it was entirely deliberate.

Recovering his composure to some extent, he became more like his old assured self. Jane resorted to baiting Lisbon about her inability to keep a secret, when she pressed him for his list of names, which he had foolishly admitted to in a moment of weakness. Knowing Lisbon wouldn't take him up on the dare, he offered to name three things that Lisbon didn't think he knew, to prove his point.

Jane seemed to have let it drop and was humming as he innocently looked out of the window. It took a while for it to sink in that he was humming the old Scott McKenzie number. Lisbon suddenly flushed. No, he couldn't know. It was just a coincidence. The bastard wouldn't wind her up like that. Would he?

Jane snuck a sly look at her whitening knuckles on the steering wheel, and closed his eyes contentedly. That seemed to have killed that conversation off for now at any rate.

By time they had located Baby Caitlan they were both a bag of nerves. Sean Barlow had stirred things up leaving Lisbon feeling terribly exposed. Although she hadn't thought of Jane in that way for months, there was no denying there was a time when he had regularly been the subject of her dreams. Annoyingly Jane just sat there as if accepting it was the most natural thing in the world for her to do.

Jane's logical brain knew there had to be an explanation for it all, but Lisbon had latched on to the ludicrous idea that Red John might have psychic powers. As Lorelei had been filmed months earlier, the only rational explanation was that somehow Red John had planted evidence that would inevitably lead Jane to the same seven suspects. Of greater concern was Red John's taunt to up the ante by starting to kill again, until either he caught Jane or vice versa.

Jane looked at Lisbon anxiously, silently cursing himself for listening to the rest of the team, and trying to mend his bridges with Lisbon. Sean Barlow's comments had shown how transparent Lisbon was in the face of a shrewd operator. It wouldn't take much to put her back in Red John's sights, in order for him to get at Jane.

* * *

They were exiled to the Salton Sea to escape the wrath of SAC PD, after Jane seriously screwed up on a case with disastrous results. SAC PD were baying for Jane and Lisbon's blood and it was politic for them to be out of sight in the short term. It was just their luck that Partridge was at the Salton Sea, and Jane was completely wired when he saw him.

Partridge mused pseudo philosophically "Kind of beautiful and weird, huh? All the flowers." Jane did his best to cut off Partridge's wittering, but when he started talking to the skeleton "Hello, Mr. Yardley. Who did this to ya? Hmm?" Jane snapped and menaced towards Partridge, who backed away defensively. "You've been really sullen with me recently, and now you're staring at me strangely, and I don't know why."

Jane scoffed. "You truly don't know?"

"No." Partridge swallowed hard, wondering if had Jane guessed his secret. This was getting out of hand, Partridge knew he had to do something.

Lisbon was impatient to act now that she knew the list of Red John suspects. Her cop instinct came to the fore, and against Jane's wishes she got Van Pelt to tag the GPS locations on the suspect's phones. Asking the team to keep secrets from each other was frankly naive, and Jane was understandably annoyed that Lisbon had broken his trust. Jane lashed out at her saying she was out of her depth. Lisbon responded by pointing out that she didn't work for him before she stormed out, leaving Van Pelt in temporary charge.

Lisbon's exit did not go unnoticed by the forensics crew, who were wrapping up their own work. Knowing that this was his best chance to do something, with Lisbon isolated from the rest of the team, Partridge made some excuse to leave before the others.

Regardless of who was at fault, the team had decided it was incumbent on Jane to make the first move. It was to no avail as Lisbon refused to take Jane's calls, which had started off apologetic, and were getting increasingly flippant each time he tried and failed to get through.

* * *

Lisbon was using the time by herself to do some more work on Priya's murder, and she sent out a carefully worded email to everyone on Van Pelt's list, accompanied by a picture of Partridge. With any luck she would have enough information by the following day, to feel confident about divulging her suspicions about Partridge.

Her train of thought was interrupted by a call out to 5570 West Huron. As soon as she saw that Partridge's GPS location placed him in the locality, Lisbon was suspicious and called SAC PD for backup. Still pissed off about Jane's stunt, they were in no hurry to attend.

Aware that this could be a trap, Lisbon impatiently waited outside the building cursing her foolishness at being drawn into this situation. The backup should have been here by now, and Lisbon was getting decidedly edgy about the situation. Ordinarily she wouldn't have thought twice about going in by herself, but she was still incapacitated by her injuries, and wouldn't fare well in a tussle. Dammit why had she gone off by herself. She tried chasing SAC PD again, but they were just being plain awkward. Lisbon was on the verge of calling Cho and Rigsby to see if they had gotten back to Sacramento, when she heard a noise from the house.

Summoning all her courage Lisbon slowly advanced towards the darkened house; she hadn't made it as far as the door when she heard a noise behind her. Lisbon just crumpled into a heap as her body spasmed. She knew immediately what had happened. As part of their training in the use of Tasers, they had all experienced the sensation first hand, and the induced neuro muscular incapacitation rendered the target incapable of controlling movement.

While she was powerless to do anything, she felt her ankles and wrists being bound with duct tape. As she slowly started to get control of her motor functions, she pulled herself up against the wall just in time to see Partridge emerge from the shadows. There were no good options in this scenario, but somehow she knew this was one of the very worst.

Of all the places to be stuck, this deserted pigeon infested wreck of a building set the scene for a spine chilling encounter. The shutters on the windows cut out the street lighting, and the only illumination came from a dim camping lantern that only cast its light over its immediate vicinity, leaving the rest of the place eerily dark.

Partridge jauntily sauntered towards her carrying a hypodermic needle in his hand; he obviously wanted to have his say before he administered the drugs. "So Agent Lisbon or perhaps I can call you Teresa in such an intimate setting." He looked worryingly deranged as he grinned at her.

"I'm sure you've already guessed my little secret; I knew straight away you'd picked up on that slip up about the tap at the barn. You never know when to leave things alone. " Partridge wagged his finger admonishingly at her.

"You'll never get away with it Partridge. We've already circulated your photograph and expect confirmation tomorrow. It's too late Partridge, and killing me will do no good." Lisbon tried to keep a lid on things, though she wasn't entirely sure logic would cut any ice with Partridge in his unhinged state.

"I'll be long gone by then Lisbon, as will you. You could say we'll be going on holiday together." Partridge gave a creepy grin. "I've always fancied the great outdoors. I can see it now just the two of us hidden in the wilds, maybe the odd dog or cat to keep you company. Not that you'll exactly be taking in the scenery."

So impotent in the real world, he was really getting off on his position of power as he lorded it over Lisbon. All Lisbon could do was to keep him talking as long as possible in the vain hope that backup would arrive, but a feeling of helplessness started to engulf her.

"Just think about what you're doing Partridge, it will be a capital offence killing a law officer. Maybe the child was accidental. Perhaps we could work something out with the DA." Lisbon kept her voice as even as possible, trying not to inflame his already heightened state.

"The child was unplanned, she just wouldn't shut up. But you Lisbon will be the _pièce de résistance_ _,_ it's been set up so it looks like Red John has abducted you. Jane will be out of his mind – can you imagine his guilt at losing his family and then you?" It was an undeniably fiendish plan.

"He'll never believe it, he knows Red John's methods," Lisbon was secretly horrified at the ramifications of all this, it was a devilishly wicked revenge.

"No doubt I'll be called in to do the forensics. The face on the wall will be in your in your blood, even if there is no body at the scene. Thanks to Jane constantly correcting me, I'm an expert in Red John's habits. Then for good measure I'll make sure I phone him regularly with updates just to keep his hopes alive." Partridge put on an exaggerated high pitched voice and bobbed his head for comic effect as he spoke. "Hello Patrick, so sorry Teresa can't be with you just yet. But I assure you I'm taking very good care of her, she'll be perfectly preserved." Partridge started sniggering at his own joke. "Then just imagine his horror when months later the sarcophagus is delivered to the CBI, the long dark hair and green eyes on the outside of the cask will leave no doubt as to the contents, not exactly Cleopatra but close enough."

Almost dispassionately disregarding her own position briefly, Lisbon could just imagine the sheer abhorrence of the team in that situation. Jane would more than likely be plunged into a deep depression, if not worse, by the guilt of it all.

Intent on enjoying his fifteen minutes of fame, albeit with someone hardly in a position to broadcast the news, Partridge needed to grandstand his evil genius, and he started to get carried away in the moment.

"Of course I'd phone beforehand." Partridge reverted to his high pitched voice. "Patrick I'm afraid Lisbon has got herself into a fine pickle, but I'm sure you'll relish the result." Partridge laughed maniacally "Just think of all the fun I'll have gherkin his chain." He doubled up with laughter at his own sick joke." Sorry Lisbon, you must indulge my pickle-dillos."

Lisbon guessed he was winding himself up for the kill; not being a killer by nature he had to psyche himself up to do the deed. Partridge was more interested in the aftermath than the act itself. Blessedly Lisbon had little time to dwell on her imminent extinction, as she was too busy watching Partridge on the off chance she could turn the situation around somehow.

His agitation was escalating as he got closer to her, but he hid behind a sick bravado. "It's a shame to have to end this when we're getting on so well, but I'm afraid it's time to say goodbye Agent Lisbon. Any last requests?" He cocked his head to one side and shrugged his shoulders questioningly. "I do a great rendition of My Way." He crooned comically "And now the end is near; and so you face the final curtain..." He peered forward into Lisbon's face. "No. Oh well can't say I didn't ask. Any messages before you go?"

"Go fuck yourself Partridge." Lisbon dropped any pretence of humouring the sick bastard.

"Not the last words I was hoping for Lisbon, but your choice." Partridge advanced towards her.

Lisbon tensed herself. Under normal circumstances she would back herself against Partridge, he was slight and wasn't combat trained, but bound up as she was the options were severely limited. Still Lisbon had no intention of going quietly into the night; Partridge would have to earn his victory.

She pulled her knees up defensively waiting until he was within range, and then she suddenly bucked her body shooting her legs out to catch him as high up his legs as possible. Partridge recoiled in pain almost losing his balance, before throwing himself on her as she tried to roll away. He prepared to plunge the needle in as she struggled vainly, muttering some prayers as she put up her last fight. So engrossed were they with their tussle that neither noticed the door opening, and a masked figure appear. He picked up Partridge's Taser and aimed it at him, Partridge slumped forward helpless over Lisbon before he was able to complete his task.

A second figure appeared in the doorway, and moved forward to drag Partridge off Lisbon and zip lock his arms and feet together. Stunned by events Lisbon looked up blearily to try and take the situation in, the first man was wearing a grotesque latex head mask. The second man had his back to her as he secured Partridge. He was in some form of black uniform, not police, possibly security, Lisbon gasped when he turned round and Lisbon recognised Mike. "You!"

"Teresa, I told you we'd meet again, though I hadn't anticipated it would be quite so soon." Mike pulled up Partridge to face the masked figure, and said no more until the figure approached Partridge and started speaking in a high pitched voice.

"Partridge, so sorry to put an end to your delicious plan. I have to say it really was quite ingenious, but I am afraid I have my own plans for the lovely Agent Lisbon. You really have thrown a spanner in the works."

"Red John." Lisbon gasped. Crap just her luck to be saved from a demented fantasist by a serial killer.

"Oh you're a smart one Agent Lisbon, but really what were you thinking coming to a place like this without backup? We called Sac PD to let them know it was a false alarm, to buy some more time."

Partridge was starting to come round more, he looked confused and dazed but he had clearly picked up on who the visitor was. "Red John, I've always wanted to meet you, I've worked all of your cases. Perhaps we could work together."

Red John turned slowly towards him. "Work with a petty imposter who was going to cheapen my name. I don't think so, I've been saving Agent Lisbon for my final solution, and I'm not sharing her with anyone." He turned to Lisbon. "This is what happens when people annoy me." He pulled out his hooked knife and went towards Partridge.

The fear in Partridge's eyes was echoed by that in Lisbon's. Although she had no sympathy for the man, she took no satisfaction in seeing him die like this. His plaintive begging persisted, as he pledged his loyalty to Red John in the hope of a reprieve.

"Oh shut up you pathetic worm." Red John pressed the knife into his neck to make the first incision, and watched the blood trickle down. He turned to Lisbon "I'll make this quick as we're short of time, but when your time comes I shall savour every moment." Returning his attention to his victim, he made a series of quick incisions, ignoring Partridge's Tyger, Tyger plea. Partridge whimpered in fear as he saw his clothes turning red. Red John turned away and left him to his fate, turning his attentions to Lisbon.

"Now you my dear will be my final work of art, the one that finally drives Patrick over the edge to insanity. He leant in and sniffed her like some feral animal. "Umm so tempting, but I'm afraid my friend enjoyed himself rather too much, and I like to have work on a blank canvas unsullied by the brushwork of an inferior artist. A few more weeks and you should be back to mint condition. Though I must say I was impressed how much of a fight you put up, you were quite the firecracker."

It seemed crazy that Lisbon should worry about Red John's voyeurism when her life was potentially under threat, but she struggled to get the thought out of her mind that Red John had somehow witnessed what went on with her and Mike. Red John motioned for Mike to approach, the sound of Partridge's groans still echoed in the background. Mike just kicked out at him "Oh shut up you sissy."

Red John's ghastly mask was right in Lisbon's face as he spoke. "We hadn't planned to see you just yet, but I assure you we'll meet again shortly. In the meantime I just want to leave you a calling card, to mark you out as mine."

Mike knelt behind her and pushed aside her clothing to expose the creamy white flesh of her left breast. He permitted his thumb to drift across the raised pink nipple, and then looked apologetically towards Red John, who chortled at the look of disgust on Lisbon's face. "I fear the lady no longer appreciates your charms my friend." Red John straddled her as he positioned himself to work, and then pulled out a what looked like a chunky white pen from his pocket. When the cap was removed it revealed a pointed filament that started to glow white when the switch was flicked on.

Lisbon winced in anticipation of what was going to happen, Mike held her rock steady as Red John began his work with the cauterising pen. Lisbon hissed with pain as the white hot tip burned through the outer layers of her skin; she tried to pull away as the stench of her burning flesh drifted up to her nostrils. Slowly Red John worked his design on her, pressing deeply into the flesh until his symbol was complete. Only a couple of inches in diameter, his mark would be covered by normal clothing. Lisbon had effectively been branded.

Red John leant back to admire his handiwork. "Patrick will never want you now, how does it feel to know that you would disgust him?"

The voice dropped back briefly to its normal tone as he cursed, when he accidentally touched the white hot filament with his index finger. "You're mine now Agent Lisbon and I shall return to stake my claim. It may be weeks or even months, you'll never know until it happens. You'll just have to live with the knowledge that you'll never know what's waiting for you round the next corner." He took one last admiring look at his handiwork before re-arranging her clothing to cover her up.

Her tormentor removed her phone from her pocket, and stood up to make a call, only to be mobbed by some of the feral pigeons that were attracted to the light from the phone. Red John swung his arms around wildly. "Rats with wings, I hate these things."

While Red John phoned to taunt Jane, Lisbon quickly tried to catalogue as much as she could using all her senses of observation. Mike's uniform was already ensconced in the memory palace, as was Red John's build, clothing and footwear. He smelt clean and fresh, possibly the slightest hint of sandalwood but nothing overpowering. Lisbon tried to make out the colour of his eyes behind the mask, definitely not brown but beyond that she couldn't be certain. That was the last thing she remembered as the taser was used to stun her once more, as her attackers cleared their tracks before leaving.


	8. Chapter 8: Taking Stock

**Chapter 8 - Taking Stock**

Dazed and uncertain Lisbon was reluctant to open her eyes. Blocking out the stark image helped make it seem less real, even though the cop in her knew she would have to face up to it eventually. As much as she was in denial the familiar metallic smell of blood, coupled with the throbbing pain in her chest were a grim reminder of the reality of the situation.

Trying to adjust her position was difficult as Lisbon was still bound hand and foot. She became aware of a slight tightness on her facial skin that bothered her; she licked her lips and tasted blood. Quite naturally Lisbon assumed that she had sustained a head blow at some stage; they were notorious for bleeding profusely. Slowly opening her eyes, she braced herself in anticipation of the carnage Red John had wreaked. The batteries of the camping lantern were fading fast, so it was only just possible to make out Partridge's outline, but judging by his inert state he had long since shuffled off this mortal coil. It was hard to feel much remorse about his passing, but for Red John's intervention, it would have been Lisbon lying motionless on the floor.

Still shaky from the after effects of being stunned, Lisbon took some time to play over events in her mind. Lisbon had noticed the forensic crew in the parking lot when she stormed out of the diner. With Lisbon effectively isolated from the rest of the team, Partridge had been gifted a golden opportunity to enact his revenge on the SCU. Lisbon's obdurate determination to prove she could still solve crimes without recourse to jiggery-pokery had made her unduly secretive; she could easily have confided in Cho even if she wanted to keep Jane out of the case.

Were she and Jane simply incapable of functioning as working team members any longer? They seemed to be on a course of mutual self destruction. Up until now they'd always managed to hide their differences, but letting it all hang out in front of the team was damaging to team morale.

And what of Red John how did he know where to find her? Was he tracking her car? ...Dammit. The penny dropped; no doubt the team's phones had been tagged. That would explain how Red John always knew what was going on, if they could do it so could he. It was so obvious that Lisbon was kicking herself for not thinking of it sooner. Oh the irony of being rescued by a serial killer, you really couldn't make it up.

She really wanted to put her hand up to her chest, to try and take away some of the heat. Her wrists were tightly bound, and the cast on her wrist made it nigh on impossible to do anything without pressurising her injured wrist. Even if she could have reached her phone, she couldn't have used it as she was. Rolling over on to her knees, she shuffled her way over to the door, hoping to be able to lift herself using the door handle for leverage. Lisbon tumbled over almost straight away when she tried to hop through the doorway, and soon decided she was better off shuffling on her hands and knees. Eventually she got as far as the entrance door, and was hoping for some fresh air and escape, but she was thwarted by the door being jammed closed. Exhausted by her efforts she sank down on the floor, taking comfort from the fact that sooner or later the team would work out her whereabouts.

* * *

The stunned silence that followed Red John's call soon mutated into a series of frenzied calls, as one by one Jane checked whether the team had heard from Lisbon since she left. A wave of nausea overwhelmed Jane, sickened at the thought of what may have happened to Lisbon. Jane pulled himself together, and forced himself to think as rationally as possible; he owed that much to Lisbon. The team weren't far from the office now but he couldn't wait, and he called Van Pelt to see if she could ping Lisbon's phone.

"Already on it Jane, I was just going to call you. We've picked up a signal from West Huron in Del Paso Heights. We can be there in ten minutes; Cho says we'll meet you there." Grace had barely finished speaking before Jane rang off; he checked the location and went running down to his car. He did his best to control his racing heart, there was no point getting over wrought and having an accident. Red John hadn't said much, so it was hard to know what his intentions were; this could just be a shot across their bows. Jane kept repeating that to himself, in an effort to drive away the images of Angela and Charlotte that immediately sprang to mind.

Alone in his car he let his reserve crumble briefly; he felt a lump form in his throat as he recalled how hard he had been on Lisbon, and how he would feel if despite all his precautions it had all been in vain. His eyes watered slightly as he contemplated Lisbon's fate; she really didn't deserve this. He was only a couple of minutes away from West Huron now, so Jane consciously pulled himself together; the team needed to know he was in control. He didn't want them wasting their time watching out for him, while they could be looking for Lisbon.

Jane saw the team standing on the roadside as he pulled into West Huron, taking a few deep breaths he slammed the car door close and went to join them. Lisbon's car was parked in the street, so she had gone there of her own free will. There were a couple of dilapidated single storey buildings, more than likely repossessions that had fallen into disrepair. The nearest one looked like some efforts had been made to remodel the outside, so Jane suggested they try the other one. Calling Lisbon's phone to see if they could hear anything, they were rewarded by the sound of banging on the door. Jane rushed over to the door, which had been jammed to stop it opening in, his heart leapt at the muffled sound of a voice. "Lisbon is that you?"

Jane could just abut make out the reply. "Jane, I'm behind the door, be careful"

Rigsby demolished the obstacle in seconds, and the door opened to reveal Lisbon crouched in the corridor, bound hand and foot. She was so relieved to see them, but couldn't understand why they stopped dead in their tracks. "Your face." Jane pointed falteringly.

"I must have cut my head, I can taste blood." Lisbon tried to put their minds at rest.

"Has someone got some water quick?" Jane knelt down beside Lisbon, gently undoing her bindings, and talking soothingly to her as he did. Grace reappeared with a bottle of water; Jane tipped some onto his handkerchief, and started to carefully wipe her face. Lisbon was taken aback by the amount of blood. "I didn't know I'd bled that much." She stopped when she saw the expression on their faces. "What is it?"

Jane knew she wouldn't let it drop "Red John has left his mark on you." Lisbon panicked briefly, thinking they knew about the branding. She was almost relieved when Jane explained. "He's painted your face with blood, but who's blood?" Jane regarded Lisbon questioningly.

"Partridge, he killed Partridge." Lisbon motioned her head in the direction of the other room. Jane resisted the temptation to follow the others through, and remained cleaning Lisbon off completely.

Jane didn't need to say anything, Lisbon could tell how relieved he was to see her alive. He tried to put an arm around her shoulder to help lift her up, but unknowingly pressurised her burns. She winced with pain, and he quickly pulled away. "What is it Lisbon? Where are you hurt?"

"Ribs." She hissed breathlessly; it wasn't entirely untrue her ribcage was bruised and hurt like crazy.

"You need to go to hospital." Jane's concern for her was palpable.

"No! I'm fine; I don't want people poking around me in hospital. I just want to go home." There was no way Lisbon was exposing herself to medical scrutiny.

Gingerly Lisbon tried to get up, reluctantly accepting Jane's hand to help her up. Quite apart from the violation of her person, the accumulation of aches and bruises were starting to take effect on her. She froze when Jane gently moved her hair away from her neck to see the taser burn marks. The consultant shook his head in wonder at her resilience, guessing she was making light of her injuries. Unsteady on her feet she wobbled a bit when she tried to take some steps, but shook off Jane's attempts to help her irritably. "I've told you I'm OK Jane. Just leave me alone."

Dismayed at her rejection of his help, Jane reflected that this was his doing. His attempts to push Lisbon away for her own safety, had resulted in a schism in their relationship that would be hard to bridge. Lisbon was one of the few people who didn't buy into his act these days. If they were to get back to any sort of working relationship, Jane was going to have to start being a whole lot more straightforward with her. Jane tentatively tried to find out what had happened. "Do you want to talk about what happened?"

"Later. Let's just check on Partridge, I imagine he has bled out by now." Lisbon led Jane into the room where the rest of the SCU team were crouched around the body.

Their torches illuminated the bloody scene in stark detail, the familiar cut pattern was unmistakably Red John, but none of them understood why Partridge had been targeted. Less charitably Jane noted that his list was reduced by one.

Cho was on the phone organising the Medical Examiner and forensics, although Partridge was still warm there were no vital signs. Cho observed Partridge dispassionately, he was just another victim now. "Do we know why he was targeted?"

Lisbon knew she had to think quickly, and get her story straight. "Partridge murdered Priya and was responsible for all the pet-nappings. He lured me here as his next victim."

Unfazed Cho took a long look at Lisbon. "Sick bastard got what he deserved then. Are you OK boss?"

Knowing she wasn't in any fit state to do too much, Lisbon handed over responsibility to Cho. "I'll be fine, but I think you need to lead this case for now. I'm too involved. Look I'm not sure I can drive at the moment, but if you get Van Pelt to drive me home, she can take a statement and then Wayne can pick her up when you've finished. For now all you need to know is that Partridge bound me, and was attempting to administer some drugs when Red John intervened. The rest is pretty much self explanatory; he killed Partridge, stunned me and left."

Much as Jane was itching to ask some questions, he respected Lisbon's need for some privacy. It was a clever move getting Van Pelt to take her statement; she was more malleable than either Jane or Cho and wouldn't press her boss for answers.

On the way back to the apartment Lisbon made Van Pelt wait outside the drug store, while Lisbon popped in ostensibly for pain killers. She came out with a hydro gel burn kit discretely hidden away in the bottom of the bag. Although she had no idea of the extent of her injury, she knew the first step was to take the heat out of the burn site.

* * *

Lisbon pointed Van Pelt in the direction of the kitchen, before escaping upstairs to clean up and assess the damage. With her hair scrapped back, Lisbon washed down thoroughly in warm soapy water, until she was certain that all traces of blood had been removed. With some trepidation Lisbon removed her top, dreading having to see the abomination on her chest. Tears welled in her eyes when she saw the deep burns on her skin; they would inevitably lead to permanent disfigurement. She knew she would carry this round for the rest of her days – who would look at her in this state? Certainly not Jane, this would be totally abhorrent to him.

Pulling herself together, Lisbon carefully cleansed the burn site and applied a hydro gel dressing to sooth the burning sensation - the relief was instantaneous. Placing another dressing on top of it, Lisbon then put on a sloppy jumper and some fresh pants before emerging ready to face Van Pelt.

Van Pelt's cloying brand of sympathy was enough to make you feel depressed, however well meant it was Lisbon didn't need to be dragged down any further. Making a real effort to keep businesslike Lisbon reached out for the coffee, and channelled the younger agent's attentions back to work. "I may not be in until later, but if you check my emails first thing tomorrow you may find confirmation that some of the victims recognise Partridge. I know it is academic now, but at least it closes the loop. The victims have a right to know who the perpetrator was."

"So what happened Boss?" Van Pelt was understandably nervous about pushing Lisbon too far.

Lisbon sighed heavily; her actions were questionable. Lisbon would have bawled out anyone else had they acted in such a reckless manner. There was no denying the situation could have been avoided, if she had not been so headstrong. She chose her words carefully, not wishing to divulge all the details, but acknowledging the need to furnish enough information to allow a satisfactory conclusion to the investigation. "I answered a call out. SAC PD were supposed to give backup, but never turned up. I was Tasered and captured by Partridge, who intended to kill me and lay the blame at Red John's door."

Van Pelt hurriedly made her notes. "We found a syringe next to Partridge, we'll get that analysed. Why didn't you tell us of your suspicions, we could have protected you?" There was a tone of censure to Grace's response.

"That's all they were suspicions, I had no proof." Lisbon could legitimately argue that Rigsby had been there when Partridge slipped up, and he hadn't picked up on it, so she really was acting on a hunch.

Van Pelt looked less than convinced; she pressed Lisbon for a more detailed account of what Partridge had done, and visibly shuddered when the full details were revealed. "I hope the sick bastard burns in hell for what he's done. This place he was going to take you to, do you have any idea where it was?"

"No he just said it was in the wilds. Just do the usual financial checks and see what turns up." Lisbon didn't need to spell it out, Van Pelt knew the ropes.

Van Pelt proceeded cautiously. "So then Red John appeared. What happened next?"

Lisbon was wary of giving out the full story, and in particular mentioning Mike for fear her previous encounter would come to light. "He tasered Partridge, and then zip locked his arms and legs, before killing him."

"You watched him kill Partridge?" Van Pelt was starting to realise the full horror of the situation.

Lisbon kept her tone even. "Red John said he was an imposter, and he has a history of taking out imposters. Partridge isn't the first."

Van Pelt didn't quite know how to word the next question "So why did he leave you Boss?"

"I guess he wanted the story to get out, and he seemed pressed for time. I got the impression this wasn't planned, anyhow Red John had the last laugh leaving the mark on my face." Lisbon was relieved Van Pelt accepted that without question. Lisbon proceeded to give a detailed accurate account of everything she had observed about Red John's manner and appearance, to try and avert further questioning.

Before long Lisbon was visibly flagging; Van Pelt asked if there was anything she could do for her, and even offered to stay the night. Much as another presence would be comforting, Lisbon politely rejected her offer. Logically her security system ensured that she would be perfectly safe by herself, and no one would be making any further attempts on her just yet.

When Van Pelt was picked up, Lisbon made it clear she wanted no further visitors that night. However she wasn't surprised when a text came through from Jane _. You Ok? Call me if you want anything. Anytime._

She smiled wryly, guessing Jane wouldn't be having much sleep tonight either, before typing out her response. _Just want rest for now. Will talk tomorrow._

However genuine Jane's offer was, he was the last person Lisbon wanted to talk to. It wouldn't take him long to rumble that Lisbon was only telling the bare essentials, and he wouldn't be able to stop himself from delving deeper.

* * *

The atmosphere had tensed up as soon as Lisbon and Van Pelt had departed; Cho went through all the preliminaries without saying much to anyone. They were all too well aware how things could have ended up, and Jane didn't need to be told who they blamed for events. There was no point trying to defend himself, though privately he thought Lisbon was as much to blame in this instance.

There was little for them to do other than record the basics, as usual Red John had covered his tracks impeccably at the crime scene. Cho let his normally inscrutable mask slip, when SAC PD belligerently stonewalled his attempts to find out why they hadn't responded to Lisbon's calls for backup. Even if they were trying to even the score with the SCU team, Cho was surprised they would take it this far, and he made it clear that this was not the end of the matter.

With Rigsby leaving to collect Van Pelt, Cho was obliged to get a lift back with Jane. Cho had been businesslike, and had largely ignored the consultant, who was feeling like a spare part. This scenario hardly required his particular skill set. On the way back to the CBI headquarters Jane decided to bite the bullet. "Go on just say what is eating away at you."

"Do I really need to spell it out? I'd have thought you of all people would know exactly what I'm thinking." The tone was cold and dismissive; Jane had never seen Cho like this before.

"I'm going to sort it out." Jane knew it was untenable trying to work like this.

"Did you know about Partridge?" Cho interrogated Jane like a suspect.

"No. In retrospect it's completely logical but I had no idea. Lisbon came to the attic to see me after we found Priya, said she wanted to talk about the case." Jane frowned in remembrance of the scene.

"Don't tell me. You blew her off, and she stormed off." Cho didn't bother to hide his disgust. "You're both as bad as each other. You know how close she came to being killed today?"

Jane nodded shamefacedly, it was obvious in retrospect that she had just wanted to throw some ideas around. "I'll make it up with her tomorrow."

"Make sure you do, and don't just use it as an excuse to question her about Red John. Show some contrition for once." Cho knew Jane was blinded by his quest for revenge, and was quite likely to inflame things further by pushing Lisbon too far. Although it wasn't the time to say anything, Cho fully intended to have words with Lisbon at some stage. It was disrespectful to the team not confiding in at least one of them, did she have so little regard for them?

Chastened Jane drove back in silence. There was no denying that Jane wanted to find out what had happened, but his overriding concern at this moment in time was Lisbon's safety now that she was back in Red John's sights.

* * *

Despite the effects of the pain killers Lisbon slept fitfully that night, unable to shake off the trauma of her close shave. Partridge was consigned to history so she didn't dwell on that too much, but the thought that Red John was just waiting for her to recover was terrifying. Lisbon had seen how he dealt with Partridge and knew exactly what was in store unless they could stop him first.

Lisbon suspected Red John would use her as his plaything for a while, before the final atrocity. Although it went against Red John's modus operandi, Lisbon guessed he would enjoy taming this particular shrew. There had been no mistaking his animalistic attraction to her; perhaps his appetite had been whetted by Mike's account of their liaison. Worse still she half wondered whether Mike had filmed her in her drunken state; it made her skin crawl to think Red John could have witnessed her like that.

In an attempt to be logical about events, Lisbon reckoned it would take 3-4 weeks for the burns to heal properly, and Red John wasn't going to do anything until she was fully healed. In the meantime she would consult with a burns expert to see what could be done to minimise the scarring. Assuming Red John didn't get her first, the prospect of waking up each morning to see his mark reflected back in the mirror was sickening.

It made her concentrate all her efforts on Jane's list of suspects they were different ages and sizes, it shouldn't be too difficult to trim the list down to size. First out was Reede Smith, the man who had attacked her was in good condition and Smith was much larger than her assailant.

Although the shortest of the men by far, it was Brett Stiles' age that convinced Lisbon that he didn't have the vim to be Red John. Her assailant had been energetic and forceful; she sincerely doubted Stiles could muster that sort of stamina at his age. Secretly she was glad to discard Stiles, she'd always had a soft spot for the old fraud.

So that left just Haffner, Kirkwood, McAllister and Bertram. Lisbon was certain she could whittle the list down even further when she checked out the last detail. All the information was in her statement, if Jane chose to follow it through. Like many intelligent people Jane would sometimes overlook the obvious, always wanting to find a clever solution to everything. Lisbon took some comfort from her progress and finally managed to settle down to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9: The Final Suspects

**Chapter 9: The Final Suspects.**

 _A/N Although this chapter only pays lip service to canon, some of the dialogue is verbatim from the show._

* * *

There was a rumble of discontent in the SCU, largely stoked by Van Pelt and Rigsby. It was unusual for any of the team to openly criticise Lisbon, but emboldened by their recent approach to Jane they took it upon themselves to pass judgement on Lisbon's actions.

"What I can't understand is why Lisbon didn't share her suspicions. It's not as if we can't keep a secret." Despite Jane's snort of derision, Rigsby was oblivious to the irony of his statement, totally ignoring the fact that none of them had been able to keep the details of Jane's list secret.

Van Pelt at least had the decency to look embarrassed. "It's not the same Jane, this was a legitimate lead in a case. There was no need for secrecy. She should have shared it."

Jane had already pieced events together from reading Lisbon's report, and from the overheard snippets of Rigsby's account of events. Quite frankly Van Pelt's and Rigsby's sanctimonious stance had been getting on his nerves for the last couple of weeks, so he had no compunction in giving them both barrels.

Jane's initial preamble lulled them into a sense of false security. "Uum... it's strange that Lisbon of all people didn't feel the need to share the evidence. At first sight it seems very out of character. So let's consider what we know. Rigsby is it true that Lisbon pulled up Partridge for not wearing gloves at the crime scene?"

"Yeah, she really bawled Partridge out for contaminating the evidence." Rigsby was still blissfully unaware where Jane was going with this.

Jane started to reel Rigsby in slowly."So would you say that Partridge was well acquainted with the layout and operation of the equipment?"

The big man shuffled uneasily. "Well now you come to mention it, he did display a degree of proficiency, but he has a technical background so it's to be expected."

"Well I know how to use my phone, but it still takes me a while to learn how to use a new one." Jane countered.

Rigsby just laughed. "Sorry Jane, but you're not exactly Einstein with gadgets."

Cho pressed his lips together in a grimace, and folded his arms, guessing where this was going. Jane calmly snared his quarry. "Of course it would be difficult for someone as narcissistic as Partridge to hide their superior knowledge. There would surely be something that would hint at familiarity with the set up. Rigsby?"

All eyes were on him, and the big man shuffled awkwardly. Finally he mumbled."He knew where the wash facilities were."

"So it's entirely predictable that a first rate detective might form reasonable suspicions, on the grounds that Partridge was deliberately contaminating the scene, and was over familiar with the facilities." Jane let that hang in the air without further comment for now.

Van Pelt was incredulous at this revelation. "So it wasn't a secret, you knew all the time?"

"No..Not exactly knew. I just didn't realise." Rigsby was kicking himself for being so unobservant.

"And there you have it. Your illustrious leader wasn't exactly running a covert operation, or wouldn't have been, had her team been able to keep pace with her." Jane twisted the knife in with relish.

Cho screwed his face up in disgust. "You knucklehead."

"How was I to know? Partridge was just being obnoxious, showing off. I never thought anything of it." Rigsby blathered on defensively.

"Just shut up Wayne, you're making a fool of yourself." Van Pelt snapped.

There was an undeniable feeling of schadenfreude in seeing the course of true love hit the buffers; Jane had found the endless saga of their not so clandestine love life frankly irritating at times. It was obvious that Cho, who shared Rigsby's romantic confidences under sufferance, shared Jane's rather mean spirited enjoyment of the moment, and appreciated his defence of Lisbon.

* * *

Lisbon had wasted no time in contacting a burns specialist, to see what could be done to minimise the damage. The specialist listened to Lisbon's concocted story sceptically; she had heard it all before. "Well he certainly meant business; these are deep third degree burns. On the positive side, the nerve damage associated with deep burns helps numb the sensation, but I am afraid some scarring is inevitable. Even if you have laser treatment on the scars, you'll never eradicate the outline completely. The only thing I can suggest is that you contact your insurers to see if you're covered for a skin graft."

As Lisbon's health cover was through work, she knew that would entail coming clean about her injuries, which she was trying to avoid at this stage. "I'm not covered, are there any other options?"

"Quite frankly a skin graft would be both expensive and painful, I'd be more inclined to go for a tattoo on such a small site. A skilled tattooist would have no trouble dealing with scar tissue, and you could have something relatively small and subtle to cover that up easily." The specialist gave Lisbon the details of a reputable artist, although she warned Lisbon not to do anything until the scars were completely stable.

It wasn't necessarily what Lisbon had wanted to hear, she'd never been a fan of tattoos but at least it gave her the option of not having to face up to that every day. With a degree of chagrin, Lisbon recalled her mother's reaction when her cousin had turned up sporting a tattoo. " Teresa Lisbon I don't care how old you are, but I'm telling you now, no daughter of mine is ever going to be walking round sporting a tramp stamp." What would her mother have made of her predicament? Never short of an opinion, her mother would have given Lisbon a well deserved tongue lashing, before taking control of the situation in her no nonsense manner. At least Lisbon inherited that much from her mother.

* * *

Cho was endeavouring to clear the Partridge case off the books as quickly as possible, and worked through the outstanding queries briskly. "So, Van Pelt did any of the victims recognise Partridge?"

"Well the car park attendant and Judge Manchester already knew him, but Mrs Escobar has confirmed his identity as the man who lost his temper with them at the park. The other victims say he looks familiar, but aren't completely sure." Van Pelt responded.

"What about the location of Partridge's bolt-hole?" Cho just rattled through the questions, not bothering to waste energy on the niceties.

Grace switched screens to bring up some new data. "I've got a lead on a place by Hobart Creek Reservoir – it's pretty isolated. Do you want us to follow up on it?"

Ordinarily Cho would have just gotten the local PD to follow it up, but the sight of Bertram exiting the elevator helped make Cho's mind up. "Why don't you and Rigs go check it out, while I finish up in the office."

Jane's eyes narrowed as he saw Bertram approaching, it wasn't wholly surprising that he would want to check up on them, especially if he were Red John. On the plus side it gave Jane another opportunity to weigh the man up, without having to worry about Lisbon giving the game away. Miraculously the team dispersed before his arrival, although Cho didn't entirely escape Bertram's attention; not that Bertram came away much the wiser from his encounter with Cho. The CBI Director fixed his attention on the consultant, who sat calmly sipping his tea, apparently unfazed by the situation.

With a forced smile Bertram affected to casually strike up conversation. _"_ Well, it's good news about Lisbon? Extraordinarily lucky, Red John sparing her. What was she doing there, by the way?"

Jane brushed off the question. "What do you mean?"

"Well, when the call came in about the house, there was no mention of Partridge or Red John. So... why did Lisbon go there?" Bertram maintained his bluff exterior, despite Jane's best efforts to unsettle him.

"Don't know. Following a hunch, I guess." Jane leant over to place his cup and saucer down, before giving Bertram his full attention.

Bertram chuckled nervously to hide his annoyance. "Jane, I understand your appetite for secrecy. I'm even willing to tolerate it... within limits. But I'm telling you again. If you have Red John in your sights, I will be there. Clear?"

"Completely." Jane smiled at Bertram. A more observant man would have noticed that the smile didn't extend as far as Jane's eyes, which closely scrutinised the Director's face for clues.

Bertram certainly had the chutzpah to be Red John, though he had never struck Jane as being unduly prone to egomania. A pragmatist by nature, he had ascended the greasy pole by virtue of not having an opinion on anything, and being able to bend with the prevailing wind. In fact he'd always coped remarkably well with Jane's propensity to rail against authority. That could of course be a double bluff; he was undeniably a smooth operator, capable of being all things to all men.

At 6ft 3 he was the tallest of the men, and hadn't sported a full head of hair for the last 20 years. That in itself went against Rosalind's description of Red John, not that Jane attached a great deal of credence to her statements. While captivated by her piano playing, Jane had never been able to get a read on Rosalind. As much as he wanted to believe that the purity of her musical ability reflected a purity in her soul, it was impossible to make out what went on behind the dead pools of her eyes.

Jane was still musing on this when he heard the determined clicking of Lisbon's boots approaching. She was obviously still nursing her injuries, as her walk was devoid of the slight roll of her usual cop walk.

"Feeling any better today?" Jane's concern was quite genuine.

"A bit creaky, you know how it is." Lisbon conceded.

"You've just missed our Kommandant, hence the empty office." Jane waved his hand in the direction of the bullpen by way of explanation.

"Really. What did he want?" Lisbon hoped Jane hadn't been unduly antagonistic.

"Oh you know the usual stuff, just making sure he's kept in the loop on the Red John front. Wants to ensure he can grab a cheap headline when the time comes." Jane's acerbic wit made Lisbon smile despite herself.

As there was no-one else in earshot, Lisbon let her professional mask slip. "That sounds about right." They exchanged a knowing smile, before Lisbon disappeared into her office.

Jane soon appeared carrying two cups of tea. "Chamomile tea, renowned for its healing properties, and its calming effect. The last thing you need is an excess of caffeine in your system at this moment in time." Jane took note of the dark rings around her eyes. "You know, I can teach you some relaxation techniques, if you're having trouble sleeping."

Lisbon looked incredulously at him; his rumpled appearance and weary air were hardly an endorsement of his relaxation techniques. "You ever thought of using them yourself?" She commented archly, the phrase physician heal thyself sprang to mind.

Jane's lips twitched in amusement. "Touché Lisbon. They may not work for everyone, but less sceptical people can find them useful."

Lisbon knew he had come in for a reason, and wasn't going to let him manipulate her into making the first move. She glanced down at her papers, waiting for him to speak first.

Aah she knew him too well these days, he thought wryly. "You know I didn't mean what I said at the diner. I was just mad that you'd given the team the list of suspects." Jane tentatively started his apology.

"I gave Grace the list, on the proviso that she promised not to tell anyone." Lisbon's rejoinder even sounded weak to her; she should have known Grace would tell Rigsby then...

Jane pressed ahead. "I never meant for any of this to happen, you have to know I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you."

"I know Jane, the pressures just got to us. We both said things we shouldn't have said." Lisbon didn't for one minute doubt his sincerity, however that still didn't mean she had to suddenly start telling him everything, but she did offer something. "Tempting as it is to believe Red John is a psychic, I think I know how he manages to keep one step ahead of us. He knows our movements because he's tagged our phones. It's dangerous to turn the GPS off on our phones, in case any of us runs into trouble, but we need to look at having some backup outside the system."

Jane agreed it was a possibility, but another thought had come to him. "Do you remember Sophie Miller?"

"Your shrink?" Jane winced slightly at Lisbon's offhand response.

"Yes, my umm shrink as you so eloquently put it. I was pretty out of it at that stage, and must have been on some pretty strong drugs. Who knows what I may have said at that time. It's perfectly feasible that she asked me to think of a happy memory as something positive to focus on, and I remembered Eileen Barlow. There's no other logical explanation for how he could reach into my head and steal a happy memory. Eileen Barlow was killed specifically to get at me." Jane stared at his feet, as he reflected on another life cut short because of their connection with Jane.

"It's not your fault Jane, but you do need to warn Dr Miller, she's bound to be a target now." Lisbon had a bad feeling about this.

"She's not answering her phone. It's unlike her not returning calls." Jane frowned with concern.

"If you've got her address, we'll get a patrol car to pass by and check things over." Lisbon wasted no time making the arrangements.

* * *

Jane bumped into Haffner on his way back to the kitchen, and was in two minds what to do next. "Haffner what brings you here?"

"I've just come to check up on Teresa. I heard about last night." Jane bristled slightly at Haffner's presumed familiarity in using Lisbon's first name.

"She's snowed down with paperwork at the moment, but she's fine otherwise." Jane knew there was nothing he could do to stop Haffner, and resigned himself to having to observe from the safety of his sofa.

Ray's arrival hadn't gone unnoticed by Lisbon, who swallowed heavily as he approached. "They're letting anybody into the CBI these days." Lisbon attempted a weak joke.

"Well, I heard that my favourite CBI agent had run into trouble. I thought I'd stop by." Haffner sat down uninvited on the side of her desk. His proximity and elevation were decidedly intimidating.

Forced to look up at him, Lisbon felt at a disadvantage, and she just tried to keep the conversation light. "Oh. Thanks. Nice suit. Private sector's treating you all right."

Haffner shrugged as he looked down at his bespoke suit, before fixing Lisbon in his cool gray stare. "Yeah. I do okay. So what happened?"

Lost for words Lisbon said the first thing that came into her head, then regretted it instantly." Oh, nothing. I— I scraped my knee."

Haffner leant in conspiratorially, his face gave nothing away."That's not what I hear. I hear you were this close to Red John. That's some scary stuff. You okay?"

Lisbon decided to play matters down, not wanting to let on quite how rattled she was. "It turns out Red John isn't so tough. You know, he barely laid a hand on me."

Haffner smiled enigmatically." Good for you."

He was starting to give Lisbon the creeps now."Well, thanks for coming by. But I'm fine. I'm... totally fine."

Haffner chuckled as he leant back, releasing her from his gaze for a while he cocked his head to one side. "Am I making you nervous somehow? Cause you're acting like I'm making you nervous."

Lisbon swallowed hard again, trying to regain her composure, but inevitably the pitch of her voice betrayed her. "No! Why are you here?" She tried to sneak a look at his hands, but with his arms folded she couldn't really see anything.

Ray narrowed his eyes slightly as he pressed Lisbon further. "You and Jane figure you're pretty close to catching Red John, right?"

"Can't say. Sorry. Why do you care?" Lisbon was starting to sound defensive.

Haffner just laughed. " You know, I figured this was how the conversation was gonna go, but... I came anyway. You know why? I like you, Teresa. I really do. And one of these days, you and me— we'll have the time." He just left that hanging ominously in the air as he made his way out.

Lisbon shuddered as she considered the implications of the conversation. Physically Haffner was a perfect match for Red John, but Lisbon couldn't be sure one way or another. The conversation was so ambiguous that it could be taken either way. Jane had been taking it all from a distance, and rejoined Lisbon as soon as Haffner disappeared in to the elevator.

As much as Jane knew that Lisbon didn't thrive in these situations, she seemed to have been completely unnerved by the encounter. It was obvious that Lisbon wasn't telling them everything about her close shave with Red John, but he didn't want to pressurise her just now. "You OK?" Jane scanned her pale face to take a reading, and got a quick nod in confirmation.

"It takes some gall to waltz into the CBI, if he's Red John. What do you make of that?" Jane found it hard to believe Red John would be that brazen, unless he was issuing some form of challenge to them.

"Can't say. It was weird though. He could easily be Red John, but I can't be sure." Lisbon paused, wondering whether to share her assumptions with Jane. After all he could be fairly dismissive of other people's opinions at times. What finally swung the argument was the thought of Jane not having the key facts, in the event that something happened to her; she owed that much to Jane.

She slowly raised her eyes to meet his."Look, these are only my thoughts, but I don't think Stiles or Smith have the right build for Red John."

Lisbon heard Jane's deep intake of breath at that revelation. "Now, I'm not positive about this, but I would discount Bertram and Kirkwood as well. I'm pretty sure Red John had light coloured eyes."

Jane's mind went into overdrive as he computed the options, he rubbed his index finger against his chin as he considered his response."I don't doubt your logic, that pretty much confirms my thoughts. So Haffner or McAllister- but which one?"

"If I knew do you think I'd be sitting here? I would imagine we're both targets now, it's only a matter of time before he comes after one or both of us." Lisbon felt better for getting that much out in the open; Jane was sufficiently distracted to avoid further questions for now.

The mood was soon shattered by the call confirming Sophie Miller had been found murdered; Red John was upping the ante. Jane looked shell shocked by the latest revelation, but it just hardened Jane's resolve to use whatever means necessary to find Red John. Unknown to Jane, for once Lisbon was in complete agreement; the gloves were coming off.


	10. Chapter 10: The Final Clue

**Chapter 10: The Final Clue**

Jane's preoccupation with the ramifications of Dr Miller's murder had taken over their resources for the last few days. The description of the presumed culprit, one Jay Roth, told them nothing that would help distinguish between the last two suspects. Lisbon was already aware that both suspects had phobias, and quickly apprised Jane of the facts. The cruel japes playing on Haffner's arachnophobia were the stuff of legends, and Lisbon had witnessed McAllister's ornithophobia first hand. Nevertheless Jane continued to pore over Sophie's records for some telling insight; his respect for Miller's professional judgement convinced him that if anyone could get a read on Red John she could.

In many ways that suited Lisbon, allowing her to turn her attention back to Mike. Logically both Haffner and McAllister could have contacts with security companies, either on a professional or personal level. McAllister would have to approve license applications, and Haffner's clients may well utilise their services. As an interim measure Lisbon would try and identify security companies with a black livery that were based around Napa and Sacramento. She felt sure that Mike had come straight from work; his visit to West Huron St had seemed both rushed and unplanned. Once she had established possible employers, she could browse the regulatory database of licensed guards. It would be a laborious task, but not one she would wish to delegate for fear of further questioning.

* * *

A few days later by good fortune, Jane picked up on a report of a murder in Napa, which gave them a legitimate excuse to venture into McAllister's fiefdom. The case revolved around the attempted theft of a rare Coverdale Bible, it was suspected that the victim had unwittingly stumbled on events, and had paid a heavy price for his bad timing.

Lisbon caught sight of McAllister making his way over to join them at the crime scene. "Agent Lisbon. What brings your crack team to our little slice of heaven?"

" Oh, you know, any excuse to get up to wine country." Lisbon responded glibly.

"Well, we always welcome the help, but I expect I can handle this one. I heard about your adventure last week. I hope you're fully healed now?" In normal circumstances that would have seemed like an innocent question, but Lisbon felt the sheriff had a more sinister agenda.

"Oh I'm just fine."Lisbon shuffled awkwardly under his gaze, Jane watched on with interest, puzzled at McAllister's choice of words. The sheriff stood with his thumbs hooked into his belt and his fingers slightly clenched. A very defensive pose Jane thought; the pose hadn't gone unnoticed by Lisbon though for different reasons.

Unused to being challenged on his home territory, the sheriff allowed himself to get drawn into sparring with Jane over the body, as they tried to outflank each other with their conjectures about the victim. McAllister showed an altogether more perceptive side to him, he was by no means a country hick. There was an animal cunning to him; he gave the impression of being aware of everything that went on around him. The slow blink of his heavy eyelids reminded Lisbon of a predatory animal. It made her feel very uncomfortable, it was as if he could sense things without looking.

Jane could see Lisbon's disquiet, and was slightly irritated that she wasn't handling the situation better. If McAllister were Red John, he would know they were appraising him and they just had to be a brazen as he was.

As always Jane wandered around apparently at random, as he formulated his plan of action. They followed the sheriff's directions to the Bella Vista, and paused to take in the scenery. Jane surveyed the glorious vista of Napa Valley impassively; only a few years ago it would have sent him into raptures to see such beauty. Despite his hardships, or maybe because of them, he had maintained a childish joie de vivre, taking pleasures in small things wherever he could. Delighting in teasing Lisbon, and entertaining the rest of the team with his tricks, enjoying the performance aspect of solving the crimes.

Revenge against Red John was still an embryonic concept at that stage, real but distant. It was always in the back of his mind, but it didn't weigh him down so heavily - no need for that while his memories were still raw and vivid.

It concerned him that as his pursuit of Red John was reaching its inevitable conclusion, the memories of his family were starting to recede. Perhaps he could only concentrate on one obsession at a time? For all that his friendship with Lisbon was deep and enduring, it was no substitute for his family. To her eternal credit she had always accepted he was wedded to his revenge, and that revenge allowed him no mistress. There was no denying that their feelings for each other went beyond platonic at times, but neither had been foolish enough to venture into that territory.

Lorelei had only ever been a means to an end, a tool, a fellow traveller, they shared a strange kinship borne out of necessity, but their relationship was tense and brittle. Now even his friendship with Lisbon was fractured; there had been a sea-change in Lisbon's mindset of late, she was hard and calculating these days. Jane rued that his actions may have precipitated the change; such cynicism didn't suit her. The whole team was getting fractious, and was in danger of disintegrating into factions, as Lisbon's aura of indomitability faded.

Jane snuck a sideward glance at Lisbon, to see her staring wistfully out over the valley. Her eyes were unfocussed, and he could tell she was in some faraway place, and was no more taking in the views than he was. What had they become, that they were so hardened as to be impervious to the glories of nature?

"Penny for them." Jane said softly.

"Uh, What." Lisbon shook herself. "Sorry I was miles away, what did you say?"

"Nothing important. It's been a long time since we've been out to somewhere like this, such a shame it's because of Red John." Jane looked at her with genuine affection, rueing that she had been drawn back into the fray.

"We're getting there Jane. Any day now. We have to be prepared. Things will never be the same again for any of us." Jane smiled at the understatement of her comments; it certainly would be life changing, if not life ending.

"It hardly seems fair on you and the team." Jane guessed Lisbon was there for the duration, whatever he did or said.

"I'm here by choice. I'll protect the team as much as I can. They don't need to be there at the end." There was a determination to her that he had rarely seen before.

Jane acknowledged sadly that Lisbon was as fatalistic as him, and he didn't know why. He would have loved to have asked more about her encounter with Red John, but he knew that door was firmly closed. It was only speculation, but he assumed Red John had said or done something to alter her perspective. Jane sensed that she wasn't so constrained by the limitations of her calling; there had been no talk of arresting Red John of late, somehow it was taken as read that that was off the table.

In a way that saddened him, Lisbon's cheery optimism had been a beacon of hope in his tawdry world. She was the one fixed object in his universe; a star he could orbit around knowing her position was constant, and would never veer from the prescribed course. Yet now she seemed as off kilter as he was, and their orbits were dangerously unstable. It wouldn't take much for him to go beyond the limits of her pull, and be lost to the great infinity hurtling inexorably towards the black hole of destiny.

* * *

Where ever they ventured, the sheriff just seemed to turn up; it was uncanny the way he could soundlessly appear out of nowhere. He kept standing behind Lisbon, invading her space, so close that she could hear his breathing behind her. At one stage Lisbon visibly blanched at what could only be described as the sound of a deep sniff, as he appeared to be taking in her aroma. Lisbon stiffened at his _accidental_ brush against her body as he moved away. She swore the bastard was taunting her.

When the sheriff leaned over to reach for his hat, his trouser leg rode up slightly, and he inadvertently drew Lisbon's attention to his pointed boots. Lisbon froze at the sight of the distinctive stitching and harness on his footwear, they sent a shiver down her spine, she had completely forgotten them until now.

Before Lisbon could dwell further on that recollection, Jane had worked out a ruse for catching the murderer, and a play was set in motion. While he was still basking in the success of his cunning plan, Jane somehow managed to get captured by killer, who held him hostage in the bell tower while he hatched an escape plan.

After a period of inactivity Lisbon heard a scuffle above, and Cho ran outside to find out what had happened. He returned unusually perturbed, and informed her that the murderer had fallen from the roof, and that the sheriff was alone on the roof with Jane.

No one had been more surprised than Jane when the sheriff appeared out of nowhere. Both men had lost their footing in the ensuing events, but mercifully Jane had managed to cling on to the roof as he heard the sickening thud of the culprit's body crashing into the ground. He was entirely at the sheriff's mercy, and watched his approach with trepidation. Bracing himself for the inevitable, Jane was taken aback when McAllister calmly leant down to pull Jane up, and helped him scurry to safety. Red John would surely have let him fall. The sheriff surveyed him critically from his position midway across the roof; the consultant was by no means so self assured in this situation. The sound of the lock in the bell tower being shot out caught their attention, and they both looked toward the open aperture of the tower in anticipation of company.

Lisbon had warned Cho to keep his distance until they came down; on no account was he to follow her. Full of purpose she ascended the tower, slowly unbuttoning her high necked blouse part way on the way up. She felt for her gun to check it was ready to hand, and then quietly entered the belfry. On seeing the pigeons roosting, she silently shooed them towards the aperture, and watched with some satisfaction as McAllister flapped his arms to fend them off.

A sardonic smile crossed her lips as she revealed herself. "I heard someone call them rats with wings recently. Perhaps you've heard that phrase sheriff?"

There was an almost imperceptible narrowing of McAllister's eyes as he fought to maintain his cool facade. Lisbon saw his hand involuntarily slide down to his gun belt, an instinctive defence mechanism that he couldn't control.

Jane was puzzled by her demeanour. Hard and callous, she regarded the sheriff with contempt, all nervousness was a thing of the past. Lisbon stepped out onto the roof to face the sheriff. "Shall I tell him, or shall you?"

"Agent Lisbon, I'm afraid your injuries are affecting your judgement. I have no idea what you mean." McAllister's tone was calm and measured, even hypnotic.

Jane's head shot from one to the other, instantly aware of what Lisbon was saying. "Lisbon the sheriff has just saved my life. Are you absolutely sure?"

Keeping her eye fixed on her quarry, Lisbon never looked at Jane. "He hasn't finished playing his sick game with you yet. He has more misery planned, new ways of torturing you."

Lisbon swore she saw a flicker of amusement on the sheriff's face. He started to step toward her, but she drew her gun out quickly. "Just stop there. I won't hesitate to shoot."

McAllister stopped in his tracks, raising a hand in submission. "I know you've been under a lot of strain Agent Lisbon. Just think about what you're doing."

"Don't you want to tell him what you've done? Have your moment of glory? We both know only one of us is getting off this roof alive. Look on it as your final performance." Lisbon was growing in stature all the time.

Jane vainly pleaded with her. "Lisbon. If what you say is true, he belongs to me. You can't kill him, I have that right."

Lisbon pulled her top to one side, to reveal the vivid red marks of her branding. "It's not all about you Jane. The sheriff left me his calling card, and he's marked my card for the last dance."

Jane looked aghast at her wounds, the look of revulsion chilled Lisbon to the bones. She was irrevocably damaged in Jane's mind now. Overwhelmed by the white fury that accompanied that realisation, Lisbon returned her attention to McAllister, although she continued to address Jane.

"Jane this is your last chance to ask him any questions. If you have anything to say, ask him now." The gun was pointed unwaveringly at McAllister.

Falteringly Jane got his words out. "Did you or did you not kill my wife and child?" Unable to see McAllister's face, Jane missed the smirk that passed over his face that confirmed his identity beyond all doubt.

"Answer me." Jane barked.

McAllister turned to Jane, a look of defiance on his face. "So how does it feel to finally meet me Patrick after all this time? I must say you've been a disappointing opponent of late."

Jane's face hardened in a look of pure hatred, as thoughts of the retribution he wanted to mete out flashed through his brain. His thought process was interrupted by McAllister's taunting voice. "Your wife was very clean. She smelled like coal-tar soap and lavender. Your daughter smelled like sweat... and strawberries and cream. I expect it was some kind of kids' shampoo."

McAllister tried to step toward Jane, calculating that he had a better chance of overcoming the shell shocked man on this side, rather than taking on the vengeful Agent on the other.

"Just stop where you are." Lisbon commanded. "Jane just keep out of the way."

"Lisbon. He's mine. Leave him to me. I've waited so long for this." Jane pleaded, tears now in his eyes.

"Trust me Jane, it's better for everyone my way." Lisbon held Red John in her gaze, and slowly lowered her gun to aim at his feet. She squeezed the trigger, and watched as Red John struggled to keep his balance as he instinctively moved to avoid the shot that fell on the narrow walkway beneath him. The ricochet of the bullet glanced his trousers as it bounced past him. Quick as a flash he reached for his gun, but Lisbon shot once more at his feet. The shot was so close this time that he instinctively recoiled, and the sudden movement made him lose his balance. His gun discharged as he started to fall, the bullet narrowly missing Lisbon.

Jane watched in horror as he saw the scene played out in slow motion before him, the sheriff's centre of gravity had shifted irredeemably past the point of no return. Neither Jane nor Lisbon watched his final descent, their eyes were locked in some new conflict. Jane knew that Lisbon had cold bloodedly killed Red John, as assuredly as if she had put a bullet through his head. Lisbon returned his accusing look unrepentantly. "I had the right – look what he did to me. I was his next victim."

Denied of his revenge, Jane couldn't see past his fury. "He was mine, mine."

Lisbon just walked away; cold logic told her that she had achieved the best possible solution for all. Much as it hurt, her estrangement with Jane would be a price worth paying for taking out Red John. She just hoped that over time that Jane would realise she had no choice.

Descending the stairs she met Cho's worried stare. "It's over Cho. McAllister was Red John. He tried to shoot me, and fell off the roof avoiding the return fire. Jane's still up there, look after him. You're in charge now, I'm a witness and can't be involved."

Lisbon made the necessary phone calls, and watched from a distance as the emergency services gathered. She watched Jane being lead away to safety, a broken man taking no solace from the death of the man who had torn his life apart. Lisbon knew that she was the last person he needed to see just now, Cho and the team would do their best but there was no predicting what Jane would do now. She feared for his wellbeing now that his raison d'être was no more.

Resolutely Lisbon gathered herself together, she wasn't finished yet. Revenge was a dish best served cold, and she had one more meal to savour.


	11. Chapter 11: Nemesis

**Chapter 11: Nemesis**

Cho rubbed his eyes wearily, the long night was turning into an even longer day and there were still questions to be answered. Instinctively Cho looked up as the elevator opened; the shaggy man mountain that exited looked around shiftily until his eyes settled in their direction. Ignoring the curious looks of the team, he walked straight past them until he stood before Jane. A flicker of recognition crossed the shattered man's face as he looked up at the imposing figure before him.

"Pepper called, told me everything. You're coming home Paddy. Promised her we'd look after you." Pete rested a hand on Jane's shoulder.

Cho approached with caution guessing this was one of Jane's old carnie friends. "Agent Kimball Cho, can I help you?"

"Ah yes, that was the name Pepper gave me." Pete mumbled absentmindedly.

"Pepper?" Cho looked confused.

"Yeah. Short thing, dark hair, kinda pushy." Pete reached for Jane's jacket, and helped him put it on, feeling distinctly uneasy about being in a cop shop.

"Lisbon - you know her?" Cho recalled the Barlow case had involved carnies.

"Through Paddy, she called, said he was in trouble, needed help." Pete was getting uncomfortable with all the questioning, and regarded Cho warily.

Cho returned the compliment, taking the measure of the man who had some strange affinity with Jane. He reasoned that if Lisbon had arranged this, she must have thought that this was the best option for Jane. Besides they didn't know what to do with Jane. Lisbon apart, Cho was probably the closest to Jane, but he wasn't exactly in touch with his caring side. A few gruff enquiries, and some cups of tea was all Cho had time for. He had his hands full in Lisbon's absence; the press were circling like hyenas jostling to pick some tasty morsel off the bare bones of the case. To compound Cho's problems, Bertram was demanding things got wrapped up with the minimum amount of fuss poste-haste. Quite frankly the team had enough on their plates, without having to be Jane's nursemaid as well, so in many ways Cho was relieved to be absolved of that responsibility for the time being.

"I may need to contact Jane in the next few days. Where are you taking him?" Cho needed to cover all his bases.

"Why home." Pete looked at him as if he were an idiot.

Cho smiled. "But where is home Sir? I assume it's not Malibu."

"Stoney Ridge, it's where he comes from." Cho realised how little they knew of Jane's life, Pete naturally assumed they were acquainted with his past.

Cho handed him his card. "If he needs anything at all, just call us. We're his friends too."

Pete looked suspiciously at the card, and then back at the concerned agent. It was obvious this wasn't for official business, it was a genuine offer of help."We look after our own, but thanks anyhow. Where's his things?"

"Motel room I guess. Apart from clothes and books he has nothing." With some chagrin Cho realised that summed up how empty Jane's life was. Possessions meant little to him, apart from some dog eared books and his car there was precious little to show for his existence.

Pete started to guide Jane out of the bullpen, like an old dog reunited with its master Jane followed him out without a murmur.

* * *

The ramifications of the last 24 hrs had been shattering for the unit. God only knew what had gone down, but as far as Cho could make out Jane and Lisbon's relationship was irrevocably broken. It was an unholy mess that had left both their lives in tatters. Lisbon had handed in her badge and cleared her desk before Cho and Jane had returned from Napa. There was no discussion, she had made up her mind, and that was that. Of course they would have to interview her in due course, but Cho got the feeling that she would rather avoid Jane in the short term. Lisbon had let Cho know that she'd be sending a statement through shortly; she wouldn't want to leave Cho in the lurch.

Jane had barely flickered an eyelid at the news; he was still numb from the Weltschmerz that afflicted him, nothing seemed to matter anymore. Cho could barely get him to talk, and drafted out a statement based on his brief conversation with Lisbon, which Jane duly signed without even reading.

Lisbon knew what she had to do; she'd overstepped the line, and it wasn't as if it was going to be an isolated incident. There was still the matter of Mike to deal with, inside or outside the law. It was obvious that her position was untenable; regretfully Lisbon realised her time in law enforcement was over. Although she'd always said she would lose her job because of Patrick Jane, Lisbon had certainly never envisaged it would be like this.

It was doubtful whether Jane would ever forgive her; he clearly regarded what she had done as a betrayal. Regardless of the fact that she was both giving Jane a get out of jail free card, and safeguarding her own life. Worried that Jane may over react and do something stupid; the only people Lisbon could think of in the circumstances were Sam and Pete. Jane would spurn any attempts at reconciliation from Lisbon; it would just exacerbate matters.

The next priority was to prepare her statement; a carefully drafted email covered the salient details, and included a full account of events at West Huron and a photograph of her injuries. Now that she was leaving her reputation was of little account, so she came clean about the fact that Red John's man had picked her up and assaulted her. The more prurient details were omitted; they would never stand up in a court of law.

* * *

Sam pulled Jane into a hug "Why you poor lamb, come here."

"She killed him..." Jane muttered bewilderedly, still struggling to take it all in though he had seen it with his own eyes.

"Yeah, we know honey. You just rest now." Sam patted his back soothingly.

Jane fell into a deep sleep within minutes of his head hitting the pillow, so long denied the restorative process of sleep, his mind and body succumbed to the overwhelming lassitude. Sam stroked his head soothingly as she pondered the stillness of his slumbers. "Do we have any idea what happened yet?"

"Not exactly. Just know he's not happy that he didn't kill Red John himself." Pete would try and find out more over the coming days.

Sam sighed. "So Pepper saved him, but at what cost?"

Pete shrugged "She didn't say much, but there was no sign of her at the cop shop." Pete passed Cho's card to Sam. "Agent gave me this, said to call him - said he was Paddy's friend."

Sam harrumphed as she tossed the card onto the side table "So now we're on calling terms with cops?"

"They're Paddy's friends too, so I guess so." Pete grimaced at the incongruity of the situation, but he'd put his reservations to one side if needed.

* * *

The woman with the pert derriere and tumbling blond locks was making her selection at the jukebox. In her checked shirt and cowboy boots, she'd already caught the attention of the men at the other end of the bar, who were winding down after work with a beer.

She slid back on her seat at the end of the bar, and struck up a conversation with Kelly the bar tender as she waited for her track to come on. Idly playing with the beer she was nursing, she explained that she was working in the area and wondered where a girl could find a good time round here.

"All depends what you call a good time; there's live music down at Smoky Joes a couple of times a week, or there's some wine bars down in the old town." Kelly looked the blonde over critically; she looked a bit low rent for some of the upmarket wine bars.

"What about the men round here?" The blonde looked down the bar at the group of men laughing and joking.

"Depends how much trouble you're looking for, anyone in particular?" They'd all tried their luck with Kelly at one stage, not that she didn't know how to handle them, but there were some she steered well clear of.

"What about handsome there?" The stranger nodded in the direction of the well muscled man in black.

"Handsome is as handsome does. That one's trouble." Kelly frowned as she looked over in his direction.

"How so?" Lisbon's ears pricked up at that, her incognito visit may yet pay dividends.

Kelly didn't want to tell tales on the regulars, but on the other hand she wouldn't want the unwary stranger to run into trouble. She called over to the table where some young women sat drinking their coffees. "Hey Mary, got room for another one over there? Our friend here has been asking about a mutual acquaintance." Kelly inclined her head towards the group where Mike stood. Mary and Kelly exchanged a knowing look.

It was time well spent; it transpired Mike had a history of violence, but had escaped any repercussions by virtue of being one of the disgraced sheriff's closest friends. On the rare occasion anyone dared raise a complaint against him, veiled threats would be made to persuade the complainant to withdraw their allegations.

"I thought the Napa Valley was one of the safest places to live round here." Lisbon commented.

"Got to give it to the old sheriff, he ruled with a rod of iron. A great fan of summary justice, he didn't bother taking anything to court that a bit of _fine tuning_ could remedy." Mary raised her eyebrows meaningfully.

"So when was the last incident?" Lisbon wondered if it were a regular occurrence.

"That would be Jenny Douglas, he'd fancied his chances with her for a while. Tried to force it when she said no, but she was no shrinking violet and she escaped with some minor bruises. When she tried to file for assault, they tried to fit her kid brother up with a dope charge. Jenny would have seen it through but for her brother." Mary sighed resignedly.

"So why don't the families do something about it?" Lisbon tried to slowly lead Mary, without appearing too pushy.

"Hey, you're hardly going to admit you've been playing the field. It's not the sort of thing you'd tell your daddy. Besides he's careful, leaves no visible marks, knows exactly what he's doing." Mary's eyes narrowed as she looked at the man in question, leaving Lisbon to ponder whether she spoke from personal experience.

Lisbon's research revealed a number of victims; none had confided in anyone but their closest friends, but word had still got around the grapevine, at least among the women folk. She could only speculate what the true figure was, guessing many victims had kept their own counsel out of embarrassment, or for fear of repercussions.

Lisbon faced a dilemma because she was obliged to tell Cho where to find Mike, but part of her sought some personal revenge first. In some ways she could relate to Jane's desire for biblical retribution, the difference was that Lisbon wasn't looking for hands on revenge, so long as Mike got his just desserts, she wasn't bothered who delivered it. Her conversation with Cho bolstered her resolve; he had gone quieter than usual when she'd told him she was tracking down Mike. It transpired that the powers that be weren't exactly keen on the prospect of their dirty washing being aired in public. Cho was being pressurised to sweep the loose ends under the carpet, rather than draw further attention to the fact that Red John and Partridge had been part of the establishment.

Guessing direct action wasn't the best course, Lisbon contacted an old hack writer Rex Rogers, who she knew from her time with San Francisco PD. Rex was a real newshound, old school, didn't worry who he upset - as Lisbon had found out to her chagrin when they crossed swords quite early in her career. However that very disregard for authority was exactly what Lisbon needed at this juncture, someone prepared to stick their neck out without hard evidence was just the ticket.

Rex was currently the news editor of the local online newsletter, and could get information out into the public domain in hours if required. He'd been mentally writing up the story, as he listened to Lisbon recount the tale of a conspiracy of silence that allowed a rogue male to terrorise the local women folk. The alleged links with the ex sheriff, now known to be a serial killer, all added to the spice. Never one to under sell a story, Rex's rabble rousing piece soon hit the home page and the man that Lisbon knew as Mike was publicly named and shamed. Rex rounded off his article by challenging the locals to take action before he struck again.

A whispering campaign soon spread the news, this soon spilt over to social media. Feeling that they may finally be taken seriously some of the victims, including Mary, came out of the woodwork, in turn emboldening others to step forward. Being a small community, it didn't take them long to get organised, feelings were running high. Lisbon could see the situation was like a powder keg just needing the slightest spark to set it off, hopefully Rex's next revelation would be incendiary enough to blow Mike into oblivion.

Now was the time to make a strategic withdrawal, so Lisbon tipped Cho off as to Mike's whereabouts, and made sure that she was well out of sight when things came to a crux. With all the publicity Rex had generated, Bertram's press conferences had been getting decidedly uncomfortable, and eventually he authorised Cho to follow through. When the SCU swooped in for Mike they found him bloodied and broken, he had been beaten to within an inch of his life. Although he would recover, his injuries would render him incapable of walking without sticks; it was unlikely he would be a threat to anyone in the future.

Lisbon felt vindicated in her actions, a man like that would never change. A spell in jail would only harden him, and make him more resentful towards the women who had put him there. Like Nemesis she had meted out justice, proportionate to the offence. The irony of the situation didn't escape her; she was more like Jane than she cared to admit these days.

* * *

The trial had taken place after Mike's rehabilitation, and Lisbon was the star witness. She had gone over her evidence with both Cho and Ardiles beforehand, knowing full well that her private life would be raked over by the defense team. Although Jane and Lisbon still hadn't spoken since Red John's death, Lisbon noticed Jane slip into one of the back seats of the courtroom.

The defense team did their best to discredit Lisbon, painting her as a spurned ex lover seeking revenge. Her private life was dragged through the gutter, with tales of her wanton behaviour and her out of control drinking. Lisbon just took it all on the chin, sticking to the facts of what happened the night Partridge died. Despite the best attempts of the defense team, Mike was convicted of being an accessory to murder.

Jane had observed the trial dispiritedly, it was just the final loophole to be closed. Whatever sympathy he felt for Lisbon being exposed to public opprobrium, was masked behind his stony veneer. When Lisbon looked over in his direction, he pointedly refused to engage with her, and disappeared as soon as her evidence had been delivered.

The revelations in court weren't exactly news to Jane. When Pete had tipped off Cho that Jane had upped sticks without warning, it was obvious where Jane had gone. The next weekend Cho found Jane ensconced in his house at Malibu, finally starting to clear the house of the memories that had haunted him for so many years. Without waiting for an invitation Cho took off his jacket, and started moving some of the piled up items into the yard. A nod and half smile from Jane acknowledged the help. Later when the work was finally done, the men settled down for a thirst quenching beer. Cho could see that Jane was much more settled now, and although he still wouldn't discuss what had happened with Lisbon, it was obvious he had turned a corner.

After Cho left, Jane found a folder containing Lisbon's statement on the kitchen worktop. His first reaction was to push it to one side; he was still angry with Lisbon, and it just opened up old wounds. Eventually the temptation to open the folder proved too much, as Cho well knew it would. Although Cho didn't understand their estrangement, he at least wanted Jane to understand the full extent of Lisbon's travails. It was the start of a process.


	12. Chapter 12: Epilogue

**Epilogue**

The wiry spitfire barked instructions across the hall, trying to bring some order to the motley group of kids intent on creating mayhem. The salt and pepper hair was scrapped back into a bun at the nape of her neck, the silver streak at the front creating a striking feature. Age had not coarsened the features of the delicate face; devoid of any makeup the luminescent skin's only concession to age was some fine lines around the striking green eyes. As delicate as her appearance was, there was no mistaking the fire in the middle aged dynamo, who was clearly taking no prisoners.

Woe betide the kid that tried to answer her back, well versed in the vernacular of the day that rasping Chicago voice could still deliver a killer put down. This was a regime of tough love; these kids didn't need molly coddling they needed order and structure, tempered with practical kindness. Without the no nonsense approach of Teresa Lisbon, the women's refuge they inhabited with their mothers could easily have descended into anarchy.

All too often there was a vicious circle, where families were discharged back in to the community without the nous to sustain an independent life, and they would end up just hitching their wagons to yet another vicious thug. In the absence of positive role models, the kids were well on the way to a life of underachievement and delinquency. Their mothers had such low self esteem that they looked on sex as an affirmation of their worth, and it was a currency they could flaunt at will.

Lisbon was desperate to break the cycle, to stop the same old faces returning time and time again. To that end the shelter had instigated a comprehensive education programme, the occupants were given the opportunity to acquire IT skills, to learn how to become self sufficient. There were advocates and counsellors to talk them through their problems, and to help them re-establish an independent life. All too often abusers destroyed the victim's finances in order to enforce dependence, thereby trapping the victim into a life of violent abuse. When the victims finally fled, often in fear for their lives, social security cards and vital documents would be left behind, and they would have to recreate their paper life, to avoid being drawn back into abusive relationships. There was no doubting that abuse went way beyond the bruises; it was about control of all aspects of the victim's life, making it nigh on impossible for them to extricate themselves from the situation.

The St Jude's refuge offered a temporary home for the victims of abusive relationships. Many an abuser underestimated the ferocity of the petite custodian. Ignoring her quiet but firm denial of entry, they would try to barge in only to find themselves upended, and held in an arm lock while someone called for police support. Of course sometimes they came armed, as evidenced by the scars on Lisbon's arms, but undaunted she continued to protect her charges. In many ways it was fitting that St Jude was the patron saint of lost causes, because championing lost causes was Lisbon's forte.

* * *

It had been a long journey getting to this point, frequently short of money Lisbon had been forced to take on a variety of jobs to keep her head above water. Anyone looking at her now would find it hard to believe what a shambles her life had been. People always assumed that she was the eternal optimistic, little miss positivity, but she could wallow in self pity with the best of them. Alternating between feelings of loss and anger, she directed her bile at Jane. Her initial relief on hearing that he seemed to have regained his footing, soon transmuted into resentment and hurt that he of all people should accuse her of betrayal.

Who was it that always had his back, even after he'd slept with that woman? Who had been suspended after his failed attempt to trap Red John? He was secretive, manipulative, and yet very much like one of the abused wives she now cared for, she kept on going back for more. As much as Lisbon missed him being in her life, she knew that she had to cut loose for the sake of her own self respect, she would not be Jane's emotional punch bag.

Lisbon couldn't even fall back on alcohol as a prop anymore, no way would she tread that path again - she just had to face up to the reality of the situation with the clarity of a teetotaller. With her scars still untreated, there wasn't even the option of seeking solace in some meaningless liaison, although in many respects the emotional scars were probably deeper than the physical ones. It would take a long time before she would feel comfortable exposing herself to anyone, if ever. For now her only release would come from the guilty pleasures of her own making.

As the money started to run out, she served notice on her lease and packed up her meagre belongings before heading back to Chicago. Family didn't provide the sanctuary she had hoped for; the constant ribbing by Jimmy and Stan made her tetchy and irritable. Always in the shadow of their high achieving big sister, they derived more than a smidgeon of satisfaction in seeing that she wasn't so perfect after all. Inevitably her quick temper led to some sharp words, and rather than risk further damage to their already strained relationship, Lisbon took up the invitation to stay with of one of her old cop friends in New York.

Her involvement in the shelter had been accidental, unable to stand by and watch a woman get beaten up by her partner, she was introduced to the works of the South Bronx shelter organisation. Recognising Teresa as someone bright and tough enough to handle the situation, the shelter organisation offered her training, and before long she was running a shelter in one of the toughest neighbourhoods. If she couldn't have the career she wanted, in many ways this was the next best thing. Moreover it was a subject very close to her own heart, given her troubled upbringing.

The mantel of advocate and protector of these downtrodden victims, was assumed with ease. The social circuit she formerly eschewed was a necessary evil to promote their cause, and many a representative was strong armed into supporting her cause. She still brushed up well when she had to, though her uniform of choice was as austere and uncompromising as the woman herself.

* * *

When she had quit the CBI it had felt as if her world had disintegrated; not only had she lost the career she had worked for her entire life, but she had lost contact with the team that she considered her extended family. Worse still, she had become completely estranged from the man she considered her closest ally.

She'd kept in contact with Cho briefly, but he was no talker and without the job in common the conversation petered out, and they resorted to exchanging short texts. Of all the team Grace was the one who tried to keep in contact. When the extent of Lisbon's ordeal became public, Grace had reached out to her, but it was too late for that. Lisbon still exchanged the odd email with Grace, who kept her up to date on what the old team members were doing.

Cho had seamlessly filled her shoes, and she was glad that he'd finally had the opportunity to build his own team. Grace and Wayne had stuck around for a few years, but after Rigsby sustained a serious injury, they opted for a safer life running their own business in the private sector, for the sake of their burgeoning family. The biggest surprise was that Jane had returned to the fold after a period of absence.

Jane had drifted around for the best part of a year trying his hand at different things, but nothing suited. Perhaps wary of being drawn back into his old cynical ways, he accepted Cho's approach with alacrity. Of course everything was different now; although Cho was nowhere near as straight laced as everyone thought, there was no way he was putting his career on the line for Jane. In truth Jane hadn't got the same ebullience these days; Cho suspected half of Jane's fun derived from getting a rise out of Lisbon, and the sparring that followed.

Jane was infinitely sadder and more reflective these days, though still a regular target for the spinsters of Sacramento, who regarded him as fair game without Lisbon as his chaperone. Quietly but determinedly, he would get the message across that he wasn't available. The only two women he had really cared for, although in entirely different ways, were no longer part of his life, and that part of his life had withered on the vine. He lived the life of a confirmed bachelor, an honorary uncle to the Rigsby children, and a stalwart of the quiet eateries where he could sit and play chess with like minded people. Jane's bad karma hadn't expired, and he had no great expectations of what life held for him.

As Jane settled back into work, he began to realise what a high price Lisbon had paid for her actions. Re-reading Lisbon's statement, he became deeply unsettled at the realisation that he had been completely blinkered in his response. His ears would prick up whenever there was news of Lisbon, but he was unable to let go of his resentment entirely. It was only when it became apparent that she was suffering real hardship as a consequence of events, that he came to accept how much she had lost in practical and emotional terms.

How ironic that Jane, once the scourge of law enforcement, was the one who was now part of the furniture of the CBI, while Lisbon had neither support nor prospects. The team talked in hushed tones about her when Jane was around, regretting that they weren't in a position to help their erstwhile leader. Finally Jane decided to put out some tentative feelers, while he doubted they would ever be close again, he didn't want them to be completely estranged.

When the letter arrived at the shelter, Lisbon recognised the writing straight away. She stared at the letter without opening it for a while, as if contemplating its contents, before putting it in her bag for later, reasoning that if she had waited this long for an approach she could wait a bit longer. That had been a painful chapter in her life, and she was minded to keep it closed.

That night she propped up the envelope on her table, and stared accusingly at it. She would pick up the envelope occasionally, to take in the form of the familiar script, before putting it back down. Did she really want to open Pandora's box, and risk allowing those painful memories to run amok? Rescued from making a decision by some new crisis, the letter remained unopened for a few days until Lisbon finally resolved to deal with it.

The tone of the letter was conciliatory, without either admitting or apportioning fault. It was a statement of regret that she had paid such a heavy price, and a sincere enquiry into her well being. The tone was deliberately light; Jane had rightly assumed some heartfelt gushing missive would not play well with her. Lisbon responded in the same vein, and the two corresponded infrequently for a while, but it was painful for both of them, and eventually the interval between letters got longer and longer. They had made their peace, but that was it apart from the annual exchange of cards. It fell to Grace to keep them informed of each other's lives.

* * *

It had been a particularly tough day, one of Teresa's charges had ended up in hospital after returning to her abusive partner, days like this really sucked. Lisbon distractedly ruffled the hair of the toddler who followed her round, dragging his blanket behind him. She was still tidying up when she became aware of the elderly man watching her from the doorway. Her eyesight not being what it was, she failed to recognise him until he responded to her can I help you?

"Seriously Lisbon, is that the best welcome you can give me after all this time?" It was unmistakably Jane's voice. The slightly gaunt, weather-beaten face was still framed by the trademark curls, though they were nearly white these days. The wrinkles around the eyes deepened and he smiled broadly as he watched his old partner cautiously make her way over. Lisbon returned his smile nervously, conscious of the fact that she wasn't looking her best, but also struck by the frailty of the man before her, who was a mere shadow of the devil may care character of old. Grace had told her about the bypass surgery, his demons had certainly taken their toll on him. No one could possibly go through the unimaginable heartache he had suffered, without having to pay the piper at some stage.

Lisbon's eyes treacherously watered when she saw his weakened state, without a thought for what had happened in the past she enveloped him in a hug, pressing her face into his chest to hide her emotions.

"What happened to the waistcoat?" She didn't trust herself to say anything more serious. She felt the gentle rubbing of her back, and a kiss placed on the top of her head. "You've no idea how much I've missed you." Was Jane's hoarse reply, Lisbon wasn't the only one struggling.

"It's good to see you too Jane." She buried her head deeper into his chest. The least tactile of people in her law enforcement days, she felt no embarrassment at her outward show of affection.

The barriers that had kept them apart counted for nothing at this point, their delight in rekindling their friendship was the only thing that mattered. They spoke nothing of the distant past, safely keeping to the present and their mutual acquaintances. They soon fell back into their easy patter, both assiduously avoiding the elephant in the room.

"I could have done with you last week for the fundraising; God knows where they found the act from." Lisbon rolled her eyes comically. "Do you still keep your hand in?"

Jane laughed "They still wheel me out occasionally, under protest I might add."

"Still poking at the big wigs eh?" Lisbon knew he was much more controlled these days, but was trying to keep the conversation as light as possible.

Jane shrugged noncommittally. "It's what they're there for, but what about you? You still slaying dragons after all this time?" He was unaccountably proud of all she had achieved, her life at least had counted for something.

As they strolled to the local diner Lisbon noticed Jane wince with pain, and she made a strategic stop to look in a shop window while he recovered his composure. He pressed his lips together in a weak smile, and offered her his arm, as much for his own benefit as hers, before they continued their stroll down the road.

Over the meal Lisbon caught his eye wander to the tattoo just showing above her scoop necked top. She laughed in response to his silent question. "The Sisters all think it's a holy angel, but it's Nemesis."

"Of course it is. Nemesis winged balancer of life, dark-faced goddess, daughter of Justice." That was the closest Jane came to acknowledging the past.

Jane stopped the weekend in a nearby hotel, spending time at the shelter watching Lisbon at work, and entertaining the kids. Even the most hardened cynics were drawn in by the laughter, and his array of tricks. Lisbon winced slightly when he picked the pocket of Ricky, one of the more recalcitrant youths, the whole group went quiet in anticipation as Ricky's face darkened ominously, until Jane asked Ricky to check his pocket, and he found Lisbon's keys in his pocket. Ricky held them aloft and jangled them triumphantly, but quickly handed them back to the unusually smiley custodian, who stood there with her hand held out and one eyebrow arched.

For all the happiness the weekend brought them, their inevitable parting was bittersweet. Neither regretted that they had finally met again, but they inhabited different worlds now, and there was no changing that. Their words at parting were tinged with sorrow, especially as it had become apparent to Lisbon over the course of the weekend, quite how ill Jane was. She half suspected he had come to say goodbye. Jane refused her offer to take him to the airport, preferring to have his last sight of her doing a job she loved.

Lisbon couldn't regret her life, she was doing a job she loved. Moreover in her heart of hearts, she knew Jane would never have been able to move on from losing Charlotte and Angela. Even if they hadn't had their falling out, the tensions that would have arisen from their differing expectations would eventually have put a strain on their friendship. All things considered, it was probably for the best that one of them had made a break, although it felt like the nuclear option at the time.

Grace's call a few weeks later wasn't unexpected, albeit sooner than she expected. A simple service in keeping with Jane's agnosticism had marked his passing; his ashes were scattered over Angela and Charlotte's graves. Unable to attend the funeral at such short notice, Lisbon would pay a private visit to the Alexandria Cemetery in due course. A lump formed in Lisbon's throat as she put the phone down, but before she had time to say a silent prayer her office door was unceremoniously flung open. Little Luis Ramirez came running in, crying his head off, and he threw his arms around her legs. She swallowed hard to compose herself, and then leant down to pick Luis up. Lisbon looked him in the eye. "You fallen out with Raul again?" Luis sniffed, but wouldn't look directly at her. Lisbon gave him a mock glare before ruffling his hair. "Come on, let's sort this out. Honestly Luis when will you ever learn..." Her voice tapered off into the distance as she lectured her young charge, concentrating her efforts on the living rather than the departed.

* * *

 **A/N** Many thanks to everyone who has followed this story. I appreciate it hasn't been the easiest of reads. I have particularly appreciated the detailed feedback from those who have reviewed the story, and really got into the spirit of the story.


End file.
